Marandi Can’t Become Leader of Opposition in J’khand While Defection Case Is Still Open, According to Government to HC

The Jharkhand government has informed the high court that since a defection case against BJP state president Babulal Marandi has not yet been resolved, he cannot be appointed the leader of the opposition in the legislature. On Tuesday, attorney Kapil Sibal testified on behalf of the state government and said that Marandi had run for the 2019 assembly as a member of the Jharkhand Vikas Morcha (Prajatantrik), and after winning, had merged his organization with the BJP.

Former chief minister Marandi then won the position of BJP Legislative Party leader. He does not, however, meet the requirements to be the head of the opposition, according to Sibal, since a defection case is still ongoing against him in the Speaker’s court.

The saffron party, which is the biggest on the opposition bench, has put Marandi’s name up to head the opposition, according to BJP lawyer Kumar Harsh. On August 30, the court will take up the issue once again.

A public interest lawsuit seeking the appointment of information commissioners in the state was being heard by a division bench led by Chief Justice Sanjaya Kumar Mishra. The lawsuit is still waiting since there isn’t an opposition leader in the legislature. Information commissioners may only be chosen by a committee on which the leader of the opposition sits, in accordance with the Right to Information (RTI) Act.

The appointment committee, of which the opposition leader is a member, is also in charge of suggesting candidates for a number of long-empty positions on the State Human Rights Commission, Lokayukt, and other commissions. Marandi, a former Union minister as well, united his Jharkhand Vikas Morcha (Prajatantrik) with the BJP in Ranchi on February 17, 2020, in front of Union Home Minister Amit Shah. On February 24 of the same year, he was overwhelmingly chosen to serve as the BJP Legislative Party’s leader.

Then, Speaker Rabindranath Mahto started legal action against him on his own initiative under the anti-defection statute. In August 2022, he concluded the hearing and reserved the verdict. The high court earlier this year rejected a petition that challenged the Speaker’s anti-defection actions against him.