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Munda admits of conviction during stir

RANCHI, AUG. 9. The Jharkhand Chief Minister, Arjun Munda, has admitted of his conviction in the case related to violation of prohibitory orders under section 144 CRPC in 1988 during the movement for a separate State.

Regarding the Opposition parties' charges about tribal status, he said he would prove it in the court or to the Election Commission when required.

Mr. Munda, speaking to newspersons here yesterday after his return from New Delhi, said he was booked for violating prohibitory orders during the bandh call in support of demand for the separate State and should have been mentioned in the FIR. "I accept my fault but I did not lie," he said.

Meanwhile, the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) had decided to file a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) against the Chief Minister in the High Court for the alleged fraud he had committed while contesting the Assembly election from Kharswan constituency in 2000.

On the other hand, the BJP had threatened to file a defamation suit on the Opposition maligning Mr. Munda.

JMM's senior leader and MP Stephen Marandi had alleged that Mr. Munda did not furnish details of the case in his nomination papers in which he was convicted.

Refuting the Opposition allegations that Mr. Munda was not a tribal at the time of his election in 2000, BJP State unit president Raghubar Das told newsmen last evening that the Supreme Court had passed an order in 1969, saying Patar was a sub-group of the Munda tribe and that they were not different from the Mundas.

Mr. Das also said a Bihar Government Gazette notification in 1970 listed the Patars as a Scheduled Tribe.

However, the Centre had failed to notify the inclusion of Patars in the list of Scheduled Tribes, he alleged.

"The Opposition parties are misleading the people and maligning the Chief Minister even after the Jharkhand Government has pointed out that the Centre has notified the fact in 2002," he said.

Meanwhile, Mr. Marandi alleged that the government was misusing its power of prosecution in cases against the Opposition leaders and at the same time going soft on cases involving the NDA functionaries.

UNI

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