Sircar files RS nom

Former Prasar Bharati chief executive officer Jawahar Sircar Wednesday filed his nomination as Trinamool Congress Rajya Sabha candidate.

He filed the nomination papers in the office of the assembly secretary, the returning officer of the Rajya Sabha poll, in the presence of West Bengal Parliamentary Minister and TMC Secretary General Partha Chatterjee.

The Rajya Sabha seat fell vacant after TMC leader Dinesh Trivedi resigned from his post to join BJP ahead of the state assembly poll held earlier this year.

The Rajya Sabha by-election is scheduled to be held on August 9, notification for which was issued on July 22.

TMC had said it had selected Sircar as Rajya Sabha candidate as ''his invaluable contribution to public service shall help us serve our country better.'' Sircar after filing his paper thanked TMC for reposing confidence in him.

''I will try to meet their (TMC's) confidence in me in every possible way. I have been greatly touched by the fighting spirit of Mamata Banerjee in the assembly polls,'' he told reporters in the assembly chamber.

Sircar, who spent nearly 42 years in public service, accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah of not following constitutional norms and provisions.

He had resigned from Prasar Bharati in October, 2016, four months ahead of his scheduled retirement in February 2017.

Chatterjee said, '' Mamata Banerjee’s victory (in the state assembly poll) in the face of vicious campaign and personal attacks proved that the more BJP attacked, the greater will be the fightback.'' ''The reaction of the BJP government in Tripura to the visit of (poll strategist) Prashant Kishor’s team showed they (BJP) are scared,'' he added.

Sircar had earlier described the Narendra Modi government as ''intolerant'' and ''dictatorial'' . ''I have been a bureaucrat all my life, I am not a political person. But I will definitely work for the development of the masses and raise issues concerning them in Parliament,'' he had said when TMC announced his nomination. The Rajya Sabha by-poll will be held if opposition BJP fields a candidate . Otherwise, the TMC nominee will be declared elected unopposed. Congress and the Left had failed to win a single seat in the 2021 Assembly polls. Only Indian Secular Front had won a single seat. PTI SUS KK KK KK