RANCHI: Speaker Rabindranath Mahto on Wednesday met governor Droupadi Murmu amid speculations that he briefed her about the decision to register defection cases under provisions of the 10th schedule of the Constitution against Babulal Marandi, Bandhu Tirkey and Pradeep Yadav. Earlier this year, Marandi had merged JVM(P) with BJP when Tirkey and Yadav joined Congress.
Mahto, however, refuted the claims and said that it was a courtesy meeting and he had gone to invite Murmu for the Foundation Day celebration of the state assembly. “My official purpose of visit was to extend her an invitation,” he said. On the issue of defection, he said, “Let time come I shall explain the things.”
However, Marandi’s counsel R N Sahay said the notice served by the speaker’s office had no mention of any petitioner. “Speaker has initiated the case in his own motion and asked my client to present his argument before the speaker’s court on November 23,” he said.
Prior to this, taking suo motto cognizance in the matter of defection of MLAs, Mahto had registered a case and fixed November 23 as the date of the first hearing. He has also allowed the members to present their part, either in person or though their counsel.
While Marandi claimed merger of JVM(P) into the BJP, Yadav claimed its merger with Congress. None among the three, however, was ready to lodge a case of defection against the other. Tirkey had said, “We are not coming in Marandi’s way of joining BJP so he should also not object to our merger with the Congress.”
Though Marandi has been allotted a seat in the opposition benches and Tirkey and Yadav with the treasury benches in assembly floor, Mahto has neither accorded leader of opposition status to Marandi nor allowed Yadav or Tirkey as Congress members while participating in debates.
Meanwhile, parliamentary affairs minister Alamgir Alam requested Mahto to issue a notification for a one-day special session of the assembly on November 11. The special session is being summoned to approve a proposal for inclusion of a distinct code for the tribals in the census, for which a proposal will be sent to the Centre.