Munda: In line of JMM fire

Aug. 8: The battle of nerves between the BJP and the JMM is set to shift to court.

While the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha has decided to file a public interest litigation (PIL) against chief minister Arjun Munda in Jharkhand High Court for the alleged “fraud” he had committed while contesting the Assembly poll from Kharsawan in 2000, the BJP threatened to slap a defamation suit on the Opposition for maligning Munda.

Senior JMM leader and Rajya Sabha member Stephen Marandi today said in Jamshedpur that Munda did not furnish details of the case in his nomination papers, in which he was convicted for violating Section 144 of CrPC and had to pay a fine of Rs 200.

The state unit of the BJP today threatened to drag the Opposition leaders to court if they did not “refrain” from slinging mud at the chief minister.

It will also resort to mass campaigns to expose the Opposition parties, including the JMM, which were not ready to tolerate a tribal chief minister.

BJP state unit president Raghubar Das went defensive on Munda’s ethnic roots, which had come under scrutiny following allegations in the House that he was not a tribal at the time of his election in 2000. Das said the Supreme Court had passed an order in 1969, saying “Patar is a sub-group of the Munda tribe and that they are no different from Munda”.

A Bihar Gazette notification in 1970 listed the Patars as a Scheduled Tribe. “However, the Centre failed to notify the inclusion of Patars in the list of Scheduled Tribes. When this was pointed out by the Jharkhand government, the Centre notified it in 2002. The Opposition parties are not only misleading the people, but are also maligning the chief minister,” the state party chief argued.

Munda said he was not charged under any section of the IPC. “Violation of Section 144 of CrPC is common in democratic protests,’’ he said.

Refusing to comment on Governor Ved Prakash Marwah’s recent public remarks against the Munda government over the delay in panchayat polls and frequent transfer of officials, Das said his party will soon submit a report on panchayat polls.

“The provisions of the existing panchayati raj act are being opposed by various sections of the society. We are working out amendments that need to be introduced. Our central high command is unhappy with the delay in panchayat poll. Necessary action will be taken soon,” he added.

The JMM, however, remained stuck on Munda’s alleged “fraud.”

“We have crossed- checked the details he had filed in his nomination papers in the last Assembly poll from the Election Commission. The commission got back to us stating that Munda did not furnish any details about that case or the fact that he was convicted by court. It amounts to fraud on part of Munda to keep the Election Commission in the dark. JMM has decided to drag him to court,” Marandi said.

The PIL would be filed in the next few days. The senior JMM leader claimed that the Election Commission is also ascertaining details of the case involving Munda.