With the Jharkhand Vigilance Bureau having lodged FIRs against four MLAs from three leading parties for allegedly seeking bribes for casting votes in favour of a candidate in the Rajya Sabha polls, the issue of long-suspected “sale of RS seats” in the state is in the spotlight.
The four MLAs — Jharkhand Mukti Morcha’s Simon Marandi and Teklal Mahato, the BJP’s Uma Shankar Akela and the Congress party’s Rajesh Ranjan — were booked under various Sections of the IPC and the Prevention of Corruption Act late on Thursday evening following directions from the Election Commission. The four MLAs were caught in a televised sting operation by a news channel showing them allegedly prepared to vote for a RS candidate from Jharkhand in exchange for money.
If eventually held guilty, the MLAs could face imprisonment for periods ranging between six months and five years and a fine. In the Rajya Sabha polls in June, Dheeraj Sahu and K.D. Singh of the Congress and JMM respectively had won by securing 28 and 32 votes respectively. Jharkhand Assembly has 81 seats.
Sources in the vigilance bureau said while six MLAs were caught in the sting operation, FIRs were lodged against only four of them as per the directions from the EC. The two MLAs spared — Sawana Lakra and Yogendra Baitha — are from the Congress.
While the two disgraced JMM legislators, Simon Marandi and Teklal Mahato, both close aides of former chief minister Shibu Soren, had allegedly agreed to cast their votes for Rs 1 crore and Rs 2 crores respectively, the three Congress MLAs were shown willing for Rs 1 crore each. The BJP legislator had allegedly agreed for Rs 50 lakhs and a vehicle.
With the EC having said that it would continue to monitor the progress of investigation by the Vigilance Bureau, it is widely believed in Jharkhand that the four MLAs could find few escape routes.