STV NewsA Scottish Green Party member claims she was made to withdraw as a candidate because of her student visa status.
Sai Shraddha Suresh Viswanathan made the claims despite another Green candidate, Dr Q Manivannan, running on a student visa in the UK.
They, alongside Iris Duane, became the first transgender MSPs elected to Holyrood earlier this month.
Dr Manivannan, an MSP for the Edinburgh and Lothians East region, is reported to have lived in Scotland since 2021. They confirmed they are currently on a student visa, which will expire later this year.
Dr Manivannan was one of 15 Greens MSPs elected in what was the party’s best-ever election result.
The Scottish Greens said no one was blocked from standing due to their visa status and that the party acted “appropriately”.
Viswanathan, originally from India, was third in the party’s North East list.
She told STV News: “It was very strongly directed to me that I should withdraw.
“The use of block, in many terms that I’ve seen from the Scottish Greens, is very disappointing because I was made to withdraw.
“There has been a significant discrepancy in the advice given to two different individuals with the same visa status.”
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