State BJP president Babulal Marandi accuses officials of ignoring public representatives in Jharkhand

Ranchi:BJP state president and leader of opposition in the assembly, Babulal Marandi, on Thursday, expressed displeasure over the working style of senior administrative officials, claiming that they don’t respond to phone calls of public representatives.In a statement, Marandi said around 11 am on Thursday, he and other public representatives made calls to the SP, DC, and SDO of Bokaro district on their official and non-official numbers to discuss a matter of public concern. “Surprisingly, the official and known non-official numbers of these three officers were switched off,” he claimed.“If the top district officials are out of contact at 11 am, then there’s no need to explain how ‘seriously’ the govt is working and how irresponsible such officers are,” he said, stressing that he has information that most senior officers in the state keep three to four mobile numbers — one official number, which is never answered, a second private number, which is only for friends and acquaintances, and the remaining are secret numbers, which are used for “shady deals”.“This situation raises serious questions on administrative discipline,” the statement said, referring to chief minister Hemant Soren’s alleged lack of control over the officials.In another matter, Marandi demanded that the CM order a high-level investigation into criminals importing weapons from Pakistan. He accused the state govt of playing with the security and the intelligence agency of negligence. Marandi was referring to the arrest of four criminals of organised gangs with arms sourced from Pakistan by the Ranchi Police.

Marandi said, “In Ranchi, weapons and bullets are being imported from Pakistan via drones, and crimes are being committed. Those are being brought to India through Moga in Punjab and used in Ranchi and several parts of the country. The CM should order a high-level investigation into this serious matter.”Reacting to it, Congress general secretary Alok Dubey said that BJP mastered the art of “spreading lies” and “misleading the public”. On the arrest of the criminals with arms, Dubey said, “Marandi should question the Union govt as it is its responsibility if cross-border supply of weapons and drugs is happening.”