RANCHI: The Jharkhand assembly was disrupted for the second consecutive day on Thursday after opposition parties demanded the removal of the Chief Secretary and DGP in connection with treasury withdrawals in a fodder scam and an allegedly staged shootout, respectively.
The opposition parties' legislators brought adjournment motion seeking discussion over the allegations faced by the Chief Secretary Rajbala Verma and Director General of Police, DK Pandey.
The assembly speaker, however, rejected the adjournment motion.
"There are serious allegations against Chief Secretary and DGP and they should be removed from their posts so that fair probe could take place.
"Jharkhand Parliamentary Affairs Minister Saryu Rai has himself written letter to Chief Minister to prevent Chief Secretary from attending the cabinet meeting. The notice to Chief Secretary has been served by the constitutional body CBI," said Pradeep Yadav, a Jharkhand Vikas Morcha-Prajatantrik legislator who had brought the adjournment motion.
Echoing his view, leader of the Opposition and Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM), Hemant Soren said: "There are examples in past that a Chief Secretary facing lesser level of charges was removed when the issue was raised in the assembly.
"The situation in the state is very serious. People are killed in fake encounters, the voices of poor are suppressed in the assembly. Speaker sir, you have turned into role of Bhisma Pitamah."
BJP legislator Radha Krishna Kishore while interfering in the issue said: "The matter of DGP is subjudice and it cannot be raised in the state assembly".
The opposition members said the fake encounter issue was in the court and it had nothing to do with the removal of the DGP.
Finding it difficult, the speaker Dinesh Oraon adjourned the house till 2 pm.
Chief Secretary Rajbala Verma was 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.
The Central Bureau of Investigation had served notice on her in 2003 but she allegedly did not respond despite over 15 reminders.
After the local media brought up the issue, the state government issued her a show-cause notice this month. Though the Chief Secretary has submitted a reply, the state has yet to decide on the matter.
Director General of Police DK Pandey found himself in opposition cross-hairs with regard to a shootout at Bakoria in Latehar district in 2015, in which innocent persons were allegedly killed on the pretext of gun battle with Maoists.
The Jharkhand High Court had also sought a reply from the state government on the Bakoria shootout.
Crime Investigation Department (CID) Additional Director General MV Rao, in a letter to the state Home Secretary, allegedly said that the DGP had asked him to go slow with the CID investigation in the case. Rao has since been transferred out of the CID.