Ranchi: Dhanwar MLA Babulal Marandi was served another notice by the Speaker’s office within 24 hours of the Jharkhand high court putting a stay on the proceedings initiated by the Speaker against the MLA over his alleged defection to BJP. The notice was sent in response to a petition filed by JMM Gumla MLA Bhushan Tirkey. The Speaker sought a reply from Marandi on why a case of defection should not be initiated against him under Schedule X of the Constitution.
The fresh notice would mean that the Speaker’s court would hear afresh a defection case against Marandi at a time when the high court had put a stay on the proceedings of a case that was instituted suo motu by the Speaker.
While talking to the media on the issue, JMM central general secretary Supriyo Bhattacharya asked the BJP to pay due respect to parliamentary democracy and its norms. “We would like to remind the BJP that in 2005 at the time of Arjun Munda government, a resolution was adopted by the state assembly empowering the then Speaker M P Singh to take decisions in his own motion. The resolution still exists and the decisions of the Speaker should be acceptable,” he said.