By PTI
RANCHI: A delegation of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Sunday met Jharkhand Governor Ramesh Bais and submitted a memorandum seeking his intervention in appointing Babulal Marandi as leader of Opposition in the 81-member state assembly.
Former Jharkhand chief minister Babulal Marandi was on February 24, 2020 unanimously elected as leader of the BJP Legislative Party.
Marandi had on February 17, 2020 merged his Jharkhand Vikas Morcha (Prajatantrik) (JVM-P) party with the BJP at a formal merger ceremony in the presence of Union Home Minister Amit Shah in Ranchi.
The delegation led by party state president and parliamentarian Deepak Prakash informed the Governor that the BJP legislative party leader Babulal Marandi has not been accorded the status of leader of opposition even after two years.
Talking to media persons, Prakash said, “Bharatiya Janata Party has unanimously elected the first Chief Minister of the state and Rajdhanwar legislator Babulal Marandi as the legislative party leader. But it is unfortunate for the state that even after a gap of more than two years Marandi has not been given the status of leader of opposition by the Speaker of the Assembly.”
Prakash alleged that the Speaker is not taking decisions at the behest of the state government. “This government does not want to run the house by constitutional procedures but like a dictator, he alleged.
Jharkhand BJP has been demanding Babulal Marandi, a former JVM-P chief who joined BJP after 2019 assembly elections, to be declared as leader of opposition.
The saffron party had not elected its Legislative Party leader after the state polls in November-December 2019.
With the arrival of Marandi, the BJP’s number has swelled to 26 in the Jharkhand Assembly.
The ruling JMM-Congress-RJD has a combined strength of 47 in the House.
The ongoing Budget session of the Jharkhand Assembly that started on February 25 will continue till March 25.
