Greens candidate claims she was told to withdraw over student visa

A Scottish Green Party member says she was asked to stand down as a candidate because of her student visa status, despite another candidate in the same situation being allowed to run. Sai Shraddha Suresh Viswanathan said she was "let down" by the party and left "very distraught", alleging that she was asked to withdraw after officials became concerned that she couldn't serve the full term without a new visa. Another candidate, Q Manivannan, did run despite also being in the UK on a student visa. They were elected as an MSP representing the Edinburgh and Lothians East region. The Scottish Greens have said that no candidates were blocked due to their visa status. Viswanathan, who is originally from India and is the current president of the National Union of Students (NUS) in Scotland, applied to be a candidate for the party in the North East of Scotland for the Holyrood election. She took part in internal elections last year and was ranked third on the party's list. But she said during a phone call with a party official in July last year she was asked to withdraw as a candidate. Viswanathan told BBC Scotland News she was advised that the party had legal advice suggesting that she wou