Minister pays for rebellion

Jharkhand Science and Information Technology Minister Samaresh Singh was today stripped of his portfolio after he demanded that Chief Minist...

Jharkhand Science and Information Technology Minister Samaresh Singh was today stripped of his portfolio after he demanded that Chief Minister Arjun Munda be removed and former CM Babulal Marandi be given charge.

A Raj Bhawan statement said that Singh will remain a minister without portfolio. 8216;8216;On the recommendation of the Chief Minister, Governor Ved Marwah has relieved Science and Technology Minister Samresh Singh from his ministerial assignment and the CM will retain the charge of the department. So, Singh will remain a minister without portfolio,8217;8217; said the press communique.

Reacting to Singh8217;s demand, BJP8217;s state unit spokesperson Uma Shanker Kedia said: 8216;8216;His government is working well. There is no question of his replacement.8217;8217;

Last year Singh had led a revolt against then chief minister Babulal Marandi. Singh, an Independent MLA, was among eight legislatures of the ruling NDA last year who had toppled the Marandi8217;s government. Today, these legislators were allies of Munda. Ask any one of them about last year8217;s events, and the reply is: 8216;8216;His Singh8217;s was a personal agenda.We don8217;t want to say anything on it.8217;8217; Yesterday he sought Munda8217;s removal by January 31 and threatened a repeat of last year8217;s circumstances.

A senior legislator, who did not wish to be named, said there has been so much talk in the recent past about Singh8217;s alleged corruption that no partyman thought it fit to even discuss about it.

Such was the reaction of party legislators that even Munda took a dig at him saying Singh is not 8216;8216;murkh, he is maha murkha... He is like Kalidas who cut the branch of the tree over which he sat.8217;8217;

Singh, however, was unfazed. If he Munda is not replaced by January-end, I will topple his government.I have the backing of 14 legislators.8217;8217;

Story continues below this ad

He is believed to have locked horns with Munda on the ground that Munda did no attend to his demand department secretary Raj Bala Verma who had exposed him when he granted NOC to Birsa Institute of Technology, a private engineering college which operates from a rented accommodation in Ranchi.