Ranchi, Oct. 5: Speaker Alamgir Alam has decided to take a final call on the long-pending petitions filed to disqualify 11 MLAs, including five ministers, under the anti-defection law.

Alam told The Telegraph that he would begin hearing the cases from October 18 and would continue with the process till November 28. “The deadline may extend till the first week of December if the hearings overlap with the Assembly’s Foundation Day, which is on November 21,” he said.

The Speaker has been under fire from Jharkhand High Court as well as the Opposition for “sitting on” the petitions. The plea against rural development minister Anosh Ekka has been pending since March 2005 (see chart).

Alam today made it clear that the hearing schedule would not be extended in any case from the decided dates. “We have given enough time to legislators to clear their stand,” he said.

The five ministers who are facing defection charges include Stephen Marandi, Anosh Ekka, Kamlesh Singh, Bandhu Tirkey and Bhanu Pratap Sahi.

Besides, five suspended BJP legislators — Ravindra Rai, Pradeep Yadav, Kunti Singh, Manohar Tekriwal, and Vishnu Bhaiya — are also facing charges of violating the anti-defection law and for siding with Babulal Marandi’s Jharkhand Vikas Morcha. Ajsu MLA Sudesh Mahto is also facing similar charges.

The cases against Stephen, Tirkey and Sudesh are said to be not “as strong” as those against the remaining eight legislators.

Former Speaker Inder Singh Namdhari had completed the hearing of three MLAs — Kamlesh Singh, Stephen and Ekka.

Insiders attributed the Speaker’s belated action to two reasons. Primarily, they believe, he does not wish the court to grant specific direction for the case disposal, as that would mean direct interference in the Speaker’s domain.

The second reason is more political, observers pointed out. They said that the Congress and RJD were desperate to join the Shibu Soren government. The Congress with nine MLAs and RJD with its seven legislators want two berths each in the cabinet.

According to an estimate, if at least eight MLAs are disqualified, the UPA partners — JMM, Congress and RJD — could gobble up a majority on their own in the 81-member House and could give them leeway to join the government.

The Speaker, however, denied that he had any political agenda in mind before taking the decision.

Congress state president Pradeep Balmuchu, however, admitted that the party was indeed interested in joining the government. “But we are yet to get the green signal from high command,” he added.

Balmuchu said that they could rein in the government if the Congress was a part of it. Opposition leader Arjun Munda, in the meantime, said that the Speaker should not only complete the hearing on time, but should deliver judgment immediately.