New Delhi: A day after three people were arrested in Jharkhand for allegedly conspiring to topple the Hemant Soren-led government, a Congress MLA claimed that unknown persons approached him multiple times with Rs 1 crore and a ministerial berth to break the JMM-Congress-RJD alliance.
Indian Express reported that Kolebira MLA Naman Bixal Kongari was approached by three people around half-a-dozen times.The MLA told the daily: “Three people had approached me through my party workers stating that they worked for some companies. Despite me asking them to go away, they used to find a way to come back…. Once, they offered me more than Rs 1 crore in cash. I immediately informed CLP [Congress Legislature Party] leader Alamgir Alam, and Congress Jharkhand in-charge R.P.N Singh. I also informed chief minister Hemant Soren ji about it.
“They had approached me stating that apart from the money, I will get a ministerial post and support for all our agendas related to minority and tribal affairs. They also told me they were doing this for the BJP. However, none of the BJP workers approached me,” he claimed.
He said he cannot remember the faces of the people who approached him, so he could not confirm if the three who were arrested were the same people who approached him.The Ranchi Police on Saturday arrested Abhishek Dubey, Amit Singh and Niwaran Prasad Mahto, who confessed that they planned to contact political personalities and offered them cash. They were arrested based on a complaint filed by Congress’s Bermo MLA Kumar Jaimangal.
The case has been registered under IPC Sections 419 (party to criminal conspiracy), 420 (cheating), 124A (sedition), 120B (criminal conspiracy) and under provisions of Prevention of Corruption Act.Two of them, Dubey and Singh, are government employees, India Today reported, citing sources, while the third accused Mahto is believed to be a liquor seller.
In the Jharkhand assembly, out of 81 members, the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) led by Hemant Soren has 30 MLAs, Congress 16, Jharkhand Vikas Morcha (Prajatantrik) (JVMP) 3, Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) 1, independent four, while Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has 25 members.
State BJP legislative party leader Babulal Marandi on Sunday called the entire episode of the alleged plot to topple Jharkhand government “fishy” and demanded an impartial probe into the matter by forming a special investigation team (SIT) headed by a sitting high court judge to get into the details of the matter.
He further questioned the role of the police in the case saying that none of the senior police officials came forward to explain the entire episode and publicised the evidences on the basis of which the three persons were arrested.
According to Marandi, one of the accused persons was a fruit seller; another one is a contract labourer, while the third one is unemployed. He also questioned how such people would hatch a conspiracy to topple the government.
