Tala Marandi
Jharkhand BJP chief Tala Marandi resigned on Wednesday, highly-placed sources tell Newsd. BJP president Amit Shah had summoned Jharkhand chief minister Raghubar Das and Tala to New Delhi following internal issues in the state unit. It was during this meeting that Tala quit.
Newsd had earlier reported that Marandi’s son, Munna Marandi, married a 11-year-old minor. The wedding took place in Godda, Jharkhand, on June 27. Munna was separately accused of molesting a girl for two years. The incidents have plagued Tala’s image, who has drawn flak from the public, media and political circle.
The Congress has been demanding the resignation of Tala. District Congress president Deepika Pandey Singh had told Newsd, “These people are talking about Beti Bachao Beti Padao… I don’t how they will do justice now.”
Separately, more recently, there has been drama surrounding the recent reshuffle within the party. On Monday, Tala announced a new state team by sending out a WhatsApp message. Some local leaders have undertaken a fast-unto-death to protest the “unfair” rejig, after “rank newcomers” were appointed.
All state spokespersons, party vice-presidents and nearly all the state general secretaries have been replaced. This led to the protest outside the party’s state headquarters. On meeting the protestors, senior leader Yashwant Sinha offered to resign as a permanent invitee to the state executive.
“I support the cause of these people. I will not accept the position offered to me by the unit,” Sinha said.
Some of the people who were given appointments, rejected the offer due to the way by which the announcement was made. This includes the wife of former chief minister Arjun Munda, Mira Mundaand, Aditya Sahu, general secretary Ajay Shahdeo and state training chief Ganesh Mishra.
“The manner in which the committee was announced is in complete violation of the party’s constitution and traditions… I was feeling uncomfortable accepting such a responsible position in these circumstances,” said Aditya Sahu.
Ajay Shahdeo responded saying, “I had told the state president that I was not in a position to hold a full-time responsibility. I don’t know why I was chosen.”