As Karan Singh followed Sonia Gandhi by quitting his Parliament seat over the office-of-profit row, the cascading effect pushed the BJP-led NDA government in Jharkhand on the backfoot. Eleven MLAs who back the Arjun Munda government—it enjoys the support of 44 MLAs in a House of 81—run the risk of being disqualified for holding offices of profit. Chief Minister Munda himself is in a spot for the same reason since he has been officiating as chairman of the state-owned Tenughat Vidyut Nigam Ltd. Munda maintains he does not hold an office of profit. “I am chairman alright. But I have not drawn any salary or perks as TVNL chairman,” he said today. But the real worry for Munda are the 11 named in a complaint lying with Governor Syed Sibtey Razi. It was filed by H B Lal, a former principal of the Chhotanagpur Law College in Ranchi, and backed by Opposition MLAs, long before the Jaya Bachchan disqualification. Last November 14, Lal demanded the dismissal of 11 NDA MLAs, saying they held offices of profit. With the change in law for ministry size, Munda had been forced to bring down his cabinet from 29 to 12. He accommodated those left out by naming them parliamentary secretaries and as heads and members of state corporations which, Lal said, were offices of profit. After Sonia Gandhi’s resignation, the Congress was quick to demand disqualification of these MLAs. When contacted by The Indian Express, Governor’s Principal Secretary Amit Khare said: “The matter is under consideration of the Governor.”
