Biplab Kumar Deb’s Sister’s Daughter Nominated to Lumding Divisional Railway Users Consultative Committee for Two-Year Term
By Our Correspondent
Agartala, October 8, 2026
Questions have been raised over the nomination of Mrs. Silbhi Datta Aine as a member of the Divisional Railway Users Consultative Committee (DRUCC) of the Lumding Division after an official communication from the Northeast Frontier Railway showed that her nomination was recommended by BJP Lok Sabha MP from Tripura West, Biplab Kumar Deb.
According to a letter issued by the Senior Divisional Commercial Manager, Lumding Division, Northeast Frontier Railway, Mrs. Silbhi Datta Aine, wife of Mr Prantosh Aine of Udaipur under Gomati district has been nominated to the DRUCC/Lumding Division for a two-year term from September 1, 2026, to August 31, 2028. The communication, bearing reference number C/M-22/LM/DRUCC/2026, was issued in September 2026.
The letter specifically states that she was nominated by Shri Biplab Kumar Deb, Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha, Tripura West/Tripura.
The nomination has attracted attention following claims that Mrs. Silbhi Datta Aine is the daughter of Biplab Kumar Deb’s own sister and is a resident of Udaipur in Tripura. Questions have also been raised regarding her educational qualification, with claims that she has studied only up to Class VIII. But the railway letter does not mention her educational qualification.
The communication instead asks the nominated member to submit the required declaration confirming that she does not hold any assignment of profit connected with the Railways, along with her postal address, telephone numbers and photographs for issuance of an identity card.
The DRUCC is a consultative and advisory mechanism through which representatives of railway users and other stakeholders interact with railway authorities on matters concerning passenger amenities, station facilities, railway services, timetables and other issues affecting railway users.
The committees are not regular government employment positions. Membership is for a specified tenure, and members are subject to the eligibility and disqualification conditions applicable under the relevant Railway Users Consultative Committee provisions.
The rules also contain restrictions concerning persons holding certain assignments of profit connected with the Railways, including specified railway contractors and service providers. Therefore, the relevant issue in the present case is whether the nominee fulfils all applicable eligibility and disqualification requirements for membership.
The nomination of an MP’s relative, however, raises a separate question of transparency and the basis on which the recommendation was made. The available railway communication confirms that the nomination was made by MP Biplab Kumar Deb, but it does not explain the basis or criteria used by the MP while selecting the nominee.
The document also does not establish whether Mrs. Silbhi Datta Aine was nominated under a particular category of DRUCC representation or whether any other candidates were considered.
The composition of Divisional Railway Users Consultative Committees generally includes representatives from different sections of railway users and stakeholders, including trade and industry organisations, passenger associations and public representatives.
Members are nominated through prescribed channels, with Members of Parliament having a role in nominating representatives in accordance with the applicable Railway provisions. The tenure of DRUCC membership is generally up to two years.
The available communication in this case establishes that Biplab Kumar Deb exercised his nomination provision in favour of Mrs. Silbhi Datta Aine for the Lumding Division.
Questions have also been raised over whether other elected representatives from Tripura, including Rajya Sabha members, have made nominations to railway consultative committees and, if so, who the nominees are.
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