Jharkhand Chief Minister Raghubar Das today demanded an apology from Jharkhand Vikas Morcha (Prajatantrik) president Babulal Marandi over allegations of phone tapping made against him.
"Let it (phone tapping) be proved within 24 hours or (Marandi) make an apology," Das said at a press conference here when asked about the former chief minister's demand for a probe into phone tapping allegations.
He also suggested the media to cross check facts before publishing any report.
Marandi's reaction came after a Hindi newspaper yesterday published a report on alleged phone tapping of some people purportedly by government agencies.
The chief minister said, "Some leaders in the state have no work ... But want to remain in the limelight by feeding unauthentic information to sensitise and gain publicity".
"Why they are bent on tarnishing the image of Jharkhand?" Das asked and claimed that his government was transparent and accountable.
"It is the government of people which is committed to carry out development work by involving people from all sectors of society," he added.
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Later in the day Marandi, ignoring Das' apology demand sought a probe by Special Investigation Team into controversy under the supervision of a Jharkhand High Court Judge.
"Let the government form a SIT and order for a probe into the phone tapping charges against it under the supervision of a sitting Judge of the High Court," he said.
"Why is the chief minister scared to order for a SIT probe?" he asked, and alleged that phones of over 3000 people including bureaucrats, political party leaders, contractors, businessmen, journalists were tapped illegally. "Even leaders of ruling NDA are not spared."
Marandi, who met Jharkhand Governor Draupadi Murmu on the issue during the day, said the government should clarify about the two phone numbers mentioned in a report published in a Hindi daily today and to whom it belonged to.
Criticising the chief minister for terming the allegations as 'baselelss', Marandi said phone tapping is done only when there is a threat to the interest of a state or the country and can be carried out by any competitive authority with prior approval of the Home Ministry.
The government should disclose under whose instruction the tapping of phones of such a large number of people was carried out and for what purpose, he asked and assured to produce all proofs with him before the SIT, if formed.
Marandi said he did not make any charge based merely on newspaper reports but on his research and said he could be held responsible if his charges were found to be untrue.
JVM, he said, will chalk out its future course of action if the government did not order for a SIT probe into the charge.
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Continuing his attack, Marandi said the Das government in Jharkhand was based on betrayal as the chief minister had lured six of JVM(P) legislators to BJP with offers of money and posts violating Schedule 10 of the Constitution.
Those MLAs have not yet been given posts and a case was still pending in Jharkhand High Court.
Claiming that the Das government had failed to deliver in all fronts during its one year in power, he said it was a "government of announcements."
The crime graph of the state was on the rise as incidents of abduction, murder and rape are taking place in the state capital of Ranchi and people are not safe even at Jamshedpur, the chief minister's town.
Referring to a murder that had taken place near Das' residence here a few weeks ago, Marandi said the victim was shot dead minutes after he registered a case at Sidgora police station about a threat he had been receiving.
The accused have not yet been apprehended as was also the case in the two suicides committed following torture by the employers of the two men in Ranchi, he alleged.
"The government speak tall about eradicating corruption but it has continued prevail," he said referring to irregularities in the distribution of ration cards among the poor.
He claimed that the government has failed to attract investments in the state but had signed 11 MOUs.
"Signing of MOUs without their implementation is a trend in Jharkhand since the regime of former chief minister Arjun Munda," Marandi added.
