Leader of Opposition Hussain Ansari with copies of the memorandum in front of Raj Bhavan gate. Picture by Prashant Mitra

Ranchi, Aug. 5: Upping the ante on the issue of chief minister’s roots, Opposition members today met Governor Ved Prakash Marwah to furnish “documentary evidence” to prove that Munda did not belong to the Scheduled Tribe category before 2002.

Opposition parties have also decided to file a public interest litigation in Jharkhand High Court soon and will meet the President, demanding “suitable action” against Munda. Led by leader of the Opposition in the Assembly Haji Hussain Ansari, the delegation told Marwah that Arjun Munda was earlier known as Arjun Shandilya and belonged to the Patar community. The community was granted the Scheduled Tribe status in 2002.

Before that, the Patars fell in the backward caste category. However, Munda contested and won the 1995 and 2000 Assembly elections from Kharsawan, a constituency reserved for Scheduled Tribes.

The memorandum added that Arjun Shandilya’s father was Ganesh Shandilya/ Munda and he possessed property in the same name. Shandilya is a sub caste of the Patar community.

“As the Jharkhand Governor is also the custodian of tribal interests according to the Fifth Schedule, we requested him to intervene immediately. Marwah carefully went through our memorandum and assured that he would seek the opinion of legal experts,” said Ansari.

The Communist Party of India (Marxist-Lennist) opened fire at another flank, threatening to lodge a case against chief minister Arjun Munda if he did not resign for not informing the Election Commission (EC) about a case against him under section 144 of CrPC while filing nominations.

Addressing mediapersons, MLA from Bagodar, Mahendra Prasad Singh said, “If Munda does not resign, I will lodge a case against him under section 420 of the Indian Penal Code,” Singh said.

Singh questioned Munda’s claim that no such order existed at the time he filed nominations.

Singh countered that the order was published in August 1997 in the book Election in India-Major events and new initiatives (page-327, para-2, in the chapter Criminalisation of Politics).

State’s chief electoral officer A.K. Pandey maintained that no complaint has so far been lodged challenging Munda’s caste status with the Election Commission.

However, he admitted that the records related to 1995 and 2000 Assembly polls were available with the Patna office. The Opposition parties, too, have so far failed to prove that any such complaint was filed with the Election Commission.