New Delhi: Former Congress MP and the party’s candidate for the upcoming Jharkhand elections from the Jamshedpur East seat, Ajoy Kumar, has written to the Election Commission accusing former Jharkhand chief minister and now Odisha governor Raghubar Das of “involving himself in electioneering” in “violation of the constitution”.
Das’s daughter-in-law Purnima Das Sahu has been fielded by the BJP against Kumar in the Jamshedpur East seat.
In his letter to the Election Commission on Tuesday (October 22), Kumar said that Das was found campaigning for his daughter-in-law, “a seat that the Odisha governor himself held five times” on a BJP ticket.
Kumar said that Das “involving himself in electioneering while holding a gubernatorial post is a clear violation of the constitution. This blatant disregard of the constitutional chair and its responsibilities is totally unacceptable in all cases.”
“The Governor’s role is to act as a bridge between the central government and the state, maintaining an apolitical stance to ensure unbiased governance. However, the move to join election campaigning raises questions about the constitutional provisions and rules. It is imperative that they uphold the dignity and impartiality of their offices during their tenure,” his letter said.
On Monday, Das while speaking to reporters in Ranchi appealed to voters to participate in the upcoming elections.
“I appeal to the people of Jharkhand in the assembly elections that every single vote is very precious in a democracy. Therefore, you should vote in large numbers for a strong government that will advance the state. I urge all the youth, women, farmers, and young people of Jharkhand to participate actively,” he said.
Das, who was appointed as Odisha’s governor in October last year, served as Jharkhand’s first non-tribal chief minister from 2014 to 2019. In the 2019 Jharkhand assembly elections, Das lost Jamshedpur East to BJP rebel Saryu Roy, who is now state chief of alliance partner Janata Dal (United) and has been fielded by the NDA from Jamshedpur West.
It is believed that the BJP’s loss in 2019 to the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha was largely due to the anti-Adivasi policies Das adopted, including the arrests of thousands of tribals who protested against his government’s land acquisition policy.
In his letter, Kumar alleged that in the last few months, the Odisha governor’s office had become a “political adda [lair] for the upcoming Jharkhand assembly elections”.
“Tragically this seems to be a kind of naked prejudice of the Election Commission of India and failure to act against Shri Raghubar Das is writ large as our constitution has completely been compromised,” he said.
Kumar also said that it was reported in local newspapers that Das had been part of booth-level meetings in the constituency.
“Mr Das must clarify the reason for attending such booth-level meetings in Jamshedpur East constituency,” he said.
“In the past as well, people holding the constitutional post of governor have resigned to rejoin active politics. It is therefore important to analyse whether a person holding the highest constitutional office of governor be allowed to participate in active politics while holding the constitutional post,” Kumar’s letter added.
