Jharkhand opposition demands removal of top officials
Ranchi, Jan 29 (IANS) The Jharkhand Assembly could not function on Monday as the opposition again stalled the House proceedings over their demand for removal of three top level state officials.
When the assembly met at 11 a.m. the opposition members raised the issue of removal of Chief Secretary Rajbala Verma, DGP D.K. Pandey and Additional DGP Anurag Gupta.
Pradeep Yadav, a Jharkhand Vikas Morcha-Prajatantrik legislator, demanded special debate on the three officials.
Unhappy over the development, Jharkhand Speaker said "some people want to hijack the House. They should think what message is going out to people of the state."
Leader of Opposition and Jharkhand Mukti Morcha leader Hemant Soren alleged that the Speaker wanted to run a one-sided assembly. Hemant Soren's statement invited sharp reaction from the ruling party members.
The opposition members came to the well of the House forcing the Speaker to adjourn the House till 12.20 p.m. When the House reassembled similar scene was repeated and the House was adjourned till 2 p.m.
The second half, saw a repeat of similar scenes.
Chief Secretary Rajbala Verma is accused of doing nothing to prevent fraudulent withdrawals from the Chaibasa treasury as the then Deputy Commissioner of West Singhbhum in the early 1990s. The fraudulent withdrawal, which had taken place in the Animal Husbandry Department, is popularly known as the fodder scam.
DGP D.K. Pandey found himself in the opposition crosshairs with regard to a shootout in Latehar district in 2015, in which innocent persons were killed in the pretext of a gun battle with Maoists.
