SUMAN K SHRIVASTAVA
Ranchi, May 8: The Jharkhand Assembly secretariat today received the Jharkhand High Court’s wish for the Speaker, expressed on May 3, to take a decision over the leader of opposition within a week, but Speaker Rabindranath Mahto appeared not in a mood to settle it within the given deadline i.e. May 10.
The issue of deciding the validity of Babulal Marandi’s membership under the anti-defection law has been pending in the Speaker’s tribunal for the last three years. The BJP had nominated Marandi to be leader of Opposition in the Jharkhand Assembly after he merged his party (Jharkhand Vikas Morcha) with the BJP in 2020.
Mahto told this writer that such a decision takes time. “The eyes of the whole country are on this subject. So, I cannot give any deadline to take any decision on it,” he maintained.
Asked further, whether he would seek time from the court in this regard, he shot back, “Why should I? The court knows it better than me. Court apna kam kar raha hai, ham apna kam kar rehen hain(The court is doing its job, we are doing ours),” he reasoned, suggesting that the court can’t interfere in the jurisdiction of the Legislature.
Assembly Secretary Syed Jawed Haider, who has been directed to be present in the court on May 11 if the decision is not taken by May 10, said that he has received the high court order today only and sent it for the Speaker to take a decision on it.
The Secretary has been asked to explain to the court on May 11 as to why the decision over the leader of the Opposition is taking so long. The court, in its order, had directed the Assembly Secretary to take appropriate steps and appraise the Speaker about the gravity of the matter and that a decision should be taken on the question of disqualification/qualification of the leader of opposition by May 10.
The Secretary said that the hearing against Marandi has been completed but the anti-defection proceedings against Pradeep Yadav and Bandhu Tirkey are still continuing.
The high court’s order to the Assembly secretary came while it was hearing a batch of cases, where a common question involved is that the Chairman of different statutory bodies like State Information Commission, Lokayukta, State Human Right Commission, etc. are not being appointed by the State Government for the last three years in absence of leader of Opposition.
Notably, the Speaker had concluded anti-defection proceedings against Marandi in August last year and reserved the judgment amid political uncertainty following the Election Commission of India’s ostensible recommendation for Chief Minister Hemant Soren’s disqualification as an assembly member.
However, the Speaker, according to sources, put the verdict on hold after the Governor did not take a call on the Election Commission’s recommendation against Hemant Soren.
The then Governor Ramesh Bais later said that he did not act on the EC’s recommendation to disqualify Hemant Soren as it would have brought political instability in the State.
Notably, the Speaker had refused to give Marandi the status of Opposition leader and initiated anti-defection proceedings on his own. Marandi challenged the move in the high court.
Four MLAs later filed complaints against Marandi and the speaker withdrew the suo motu proceedings and later started proceedings as per the complaints. The BJP also sought the disqualification of Tirkey and Yadav. Tirkey was later disqualified in April after being sentenced for corruption.
