Dismissed BSF jawan's nomination papers rejected

The nomination papers of the sacked BSP jawan Tej Bahadur Yadav, who was the Samajwadi Party (SP) candidate against prime minister Narendra Modi in Varanasi Lok Sabha constituency, was on Wednesday rejected.

According to the official sources here, the nomination papers were rejected as the mandatory certificate from the Election Commission (EC) stating that Yadav had not been dismissed from service on grounds of ''disloyalty to nation'' or ''corruption''.

''Yadav had not submitted the certificate....it is mandatory...he was given time till 11 AM on Wednesday but he could not furnish it,'' said a senior poll official in Varanasi.

Yadav, however, alleged foul play and said that the district magistrate was ''under tremendous pressure'' from the BJP and hinted at approaching the court on this issue.

''I will consult my lawyer and the party....I will approach the supreme court if needed,'' he added.

SP president Akhilesh Yadav also claimed that the district poll officials had rejected the nomination papers under pressure from the BJP. ''They (BJP) feared that they would lose,'' he said.

Yadav, who was a last minute surprise sprung by the SP in Varanasi, had been dismissed from BSF after allegations of supply of poor quality of food to the jawans.

Yadav had claimed that the BSF jawans, who were deployed on the borders Jammu & Kashmir, were given ''very poor quality'' food. As the allegations triggered shock and dismay, the government ordered an inquiry into the matter. Yadav later applied for VRS but it was denied. He embarked on a dharna to protest the denial following which he was dismissed on charges of indiscipline.

Yadav has formed an NGO 'Fauji Ekta Kalyan Manch'. Many former jawans of Army and paramilitary forces were members of the NGO, he claimed.

Yadav, who had earlier announced that he would contest against Modi as an independent candidate as a mark of protest against his dismissal for raising an important issue, said that he was the ''real chowkidar''. ''The contest will now be between the real chowkidar and the fake chowkidar,'' he said.