War of words intensifies over MLAs defection

JVM supremo and former chief minister Babulal Marandi reiterating his demand to initiate CBI probe into the allegations of bribe given to six of his party’s former MLAs vowed that the matter would be investigated  for sure after the next general elections.

Marandi was addressing a press conference on Sunday two days after he handed over a letter allegedly carrying concrete evidences against the defected MLAs who soon after the Assembly elections in 2015 choose to switch to the BJP.

“I have submitted the letter dated January 19, 2015 to the Governor and demanded for CBI probe to unearth the entire issue. Instead the BJP MP Ravindra Rai who was then State BJP president and had facilitated the entire deal is saying me to prove the genuineness of the letter! The BJP is in power both the Center and the State and all the agencies are under them. Why are they afraid of the agencies probing the allegations? If they do not order probe, we would certainly investigate and prove the case in 2019 after our Government comes to power,” said Marandi expressing confidence about change of guards after the elections.

In fact the BJP following the letter brought into public domain denied all the charges which claimed the MLAs involved were paid money, total in Rs 11 crore, to jettison their parent party JVM and join the BJP. The letter also carried names of facilitators and observers starting from then BJP Jharkhand in-charge and incumbent Uttarakhand Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat, Jharkhand CM Raghubar Das, Rajya Sabha MP Mahesh Poddar, Minister CP Singh and several others.

Marandi in his memorandum handed over to Governor Droupadi Murmu had demanded for lodging FIRs against the persons figured into the said letter written by Ravindra Rai to BJP’s national president Amit Shah, quashing memberships of the MLAs in question, removal of the CM and ordering a CBI-led investigation.

“I am just saying to deploy some handwriting experts who would prove the handwriting and signature of the latter match with Ravindra Rai or not. But the BJP chose to threaten me with a defamation suit, knowing fully well my financial conditions. I will instead prefer to contest the case in the court of the people,” added Marandi.

The BJP on the other maintained that the letter was fake. “I had not expected this from the leader as experienced as Babulal Marandi who has served as chief minister. He through this is just trying to gain some space and attention. There is no merit in the claimed letter,” said Mahesh Poddar replying to The Pioneer query. A communiqué issued by Rai’s office went ahead alleging JVM principal general secretary Pradeep Yadav for doing forgery by superimposing the specimen signature of the MP with the letter and termed the entire episode a conspiracy hatched by the Marandi’s party.