In a sudden and unexpected move, the Jharkhand Government on Tuesday evening ordered the Anti Corruption Bureau (ACB) to carry out a probe against five ministers in former Chief Minister Raghubar Das government in alleged disproportionate assets case. The five ministers who will face ACB probe includes Amar Bauri, Neelkanth Singh Munda, Neera Yadav, Randhir Singh, and Louis Marandi, who were part of Das’s Cabinet from 2014 to 2019.
The Government ordered ACB probe based on a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) at Jharkhand High Court. In a statement issued late on Tuesday, the government said the probe has been ordered in light of a public interest litigation (PIL) filed by one Pankaj Yadav in 2020 in the Jharkhand high court regarding the assets.
Yadav the petitioner had claimed that he had filed the PIL at High Court based on affidavits submitted at Election Commission by these leaders. On comparing the assert declaration affidavit submitted by these leaders at EC it has been observed that these leaders assert has gone p by 200 to 1000 percent from 2014 to 2019, Yadav had claimed.
The petitioner has also made ACB, the income tax department, and the chief secretary parties to the PIL. Yadav has filed the petition in 2020, however in two years there was no proceedings.
The BJP has raised timing of ACB probe. State BJP spokesperson Pratul Shahdeo said, “The ACB probe has been carried out when the ED raids against tainted officers are going on. The corruption probe against the former BJP-led government comes at a time when incumbent CM Hemant Soren is facing "office of profit" allegations in connection with a mining lease case. The EC had issued a notice to Soren, who is accused of awarding himself in 2021 while holding charge of the state mining and environment department.”
The Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) leader was sent a notice asking him to explain why he should not face action for having a mining lease issued in his favor, which prima facie disregards Section 9A of the Representation of the People Act, 1951. On May 28, EC extended Hemant Soren's appearing date to June 14 in the mining lease case. Earlier, the EC had fixed May 31 as the appearing date.
Ruling Jharkhand Mukti Morcha leader Manoj Pandey said the PIL against BJP leaders has been filed on the basis of their affidavits. “If they have nothing to hide, why is the BJP so concerned about timings.”