Munda faces rebel threat

Asked to substantiate his allegations, Singh said: ‘‘Wait till February 1. I will open a Pandora’s box, which will justify what I have said, in Jamshedpur on February 2.’’

He added that Marandi had also accepted a cheque of an undisclosed amount from a private party.

Asked for his comment on Munda’s order for a Vigilance probe into the alleged irregularities in admissions to Polytechnic colleges in Ranchi and Dhanbad and the granting of a no-objection certificate by the Science and Technology Ministry to a private engineering college that operated from a rented house here, Singh shot back: ‘‘Let the government hold an inquiry into these charges.’’

However, most allies of the ruling coalition have not taken kindly to Singh’s latest outburst, coming as it does on the eve of the BJP chief ministers’ meeting at Delhi tomorrow. He has also become the subject of ridicule in the state’s political corridors.

‘‘Samresh is a hawa baaz. Nobody trusts him,’’ said former CM Babulal Marandi.

‘‘It was inevitable. Had he not quit, he would have been sacked,’’ said the BJP’s state unit spokesperson Uma Shanker Kedia.

Sources in the CM Secretariat told The Indian Express that Munda, who had already left for New Delhi by a chartered flight earlier during the day, will accept his resignation after he returns on Thursday.

Asked whether he would seek the Opposition’s help in his efforts to remove Munda, Singh said: ‘‘The Opposition is spineless. I have the support of 15 ministers and I will disclose their names on February 2.’’

He wondered why the Chief Minister did not act when one of his ministers allegedly prevented the police from arresting his brother and nephew in connection with a coal merchant’s murder at Dhanbad recently.

Singh had quit the BJP after the 1990 Assembly elections to join hands with the Rashtriya Janata Dal but returned to the party fold to contest from Giridih in the last Lok Sabha polls.