Nagpur: Congress’ electoral prospects in Ramtek (SC reserved) constituency suffered a jolt on Thursday after its candidate Rashmi Barve was disqualified by the District Returning Officer Tushar Thombare following invalidation of her caste certificate by the State’s Social Justice and Special Assistance Department. Her husband Shyamkumar, who had filed his papers as a substitute, will now be the party’s official candidate.
Earlier, the Social Justice Department had cancelled Rashmi Barve’s caste validity certificate during the daytime, on the basis of which the Returning Officer disqualified her from the candidature. Shyamkumar Barve, whose name was written on Form B, would now contest as Congress nominee from Ramtek. As the constituency comes under reserved category, Congress had fielded Barve and had submitted her documents of caste. However, as soon as the candidature of Barve was declared, the issue of her caste validity certificate came up.
A person named Sunil Salve filed a complaint in this regard. After the complaints, the Social Justice Department ordered the Caste Scrutiny Committee to take appropriate action. The District Caste Certificate Scrutiny Committee had issued notice to Rashmi Barve on the basis of the complaint lodged against her alleging that she had submitted false documents in support of her caste.
A letter duly signed by Dr Mangesh Wankhede, Deputy Commissioner and Member of District Caste Certificate Scrutiny Committee had asked her to submit her explanation at the Social Justice Department. The complaint stated that Rashmi Shyamkumar Barve (nee Rina Somraj Sonekar) submitted fake documents to the Caste Certificate Scrutiny Committee. She is a resident of Pandhurna, Madhya Pradesh.
The complainant argued that she provided false documents to the committee. Sub-Divisional Police Officer conducted an enquiry on the directions of State Information Commissioner, Nagpur division. After studying all the aspects, the Social Justice Department on Thursday gave a verdict where it termed her documents fake and cancelled her caste validity certificate. Barve approached the High Court which refused to hear the case on Thursday and asked her to come on Monday.
Later, a hearing was conducted at the Collector office where Returning Officer for Ramtek Tushar Thombare heard both sides and gave a verdict of rejecting her nomination papers. Near the Collector office, a drama was witnessed where stalwart leaders from both the sides, including Nagpur District Congress President Rajendra Mulak, Praful Gudadhe, Avantika Lekurwale from Congress while Ramtek MLA Ashish Jaiswal and others stayed put throughout the day.
The last date for filing nomination for the first phase of Lok Sabha elections was March 27. Barve submitted her nomination papers on March 27. While filing the application, Barve accompanied by Sunil Kedar, Rajendra Mulak, Nana Gawande had demonstrated her strength.
