Nalin Verma
A senior journalist & Patna based special correspondent of The Statesman.

In Jharkhand, there exist various accounts of Mr Babulal Marandi’s liaisons and his lavish style of living. His ministers are no less luxurious in their habits. They spend most of their time travelling in the helicopter that the state has hired at Rs 2.50 crore per month.

In contrast, there live thousands of people who hardly get access even to the basic amenities. In eight months from its inception, the government has spent Rs 3.50 crore on cars alone. It has done little to better the tribals’ conditions.

“Now it’s clear that Jharkhand has come up to cater to the needs of the neta log and sahebs,” Mohan Majhi, a labourer at Namkom, said. “The government and its ministers are not interested in development works.”

Perhaps, no chief minister of any state has as many vehicles as Mr Marandi has. He owns 32 vehicles, including three bullet-proof AC Ambassador cars, seven other types of cars, two Maruti Gypsies, two Tata Sumos, a Marshal, etc.

Mr Marandi is seen moving out in a cavalcade of 16 vehicles in Ranchi and eight each at Dumka and Dhanbad. “It’s an extravagant way of living which is not appropriate for the chief minister of a poor state like Jharkhand”, CPI-ML-Liberation MLA Mr Mahendra Singh said.

The state has acute drinking water crisis. Officials said the government recently released Rs 67,00,000 for the repair of the hand pumps in 22 districts.

However, an irrigation department official said: “Forty per cent of the 5000 hand pumps are out of order. How can all the defunct hand pumps be repaired at such a meager amount of money?”, he asked. “The Cabinet says it’s not in a position to release more.” But the government statistics show that it has spent Rs 9. 36 crore on ministers in the last five months.

All ministers and secretaries of various departments travel in AC cars.

Mr Marandi is also famous for his penchant for women. His advocate friend in Ranchi, Ms Manju Rai, is known as a “shadow” chief minister. For the officials and leaders of various political parties, she is “Mrs chief minister.” Her closeness to Mr Marandi came to light when her daughter, Akriti, got admission in the Mahatma Gandhi Institute of Medical Sciences, Jamshedpur, recently on CM’s quota. “Yes, I am Mr Marandi’s friend .I was his friend even when he was not the CM”, she said. “What’s wrong if I’m his friend?” “Mrs Manju Rai is a long-time friend”, Mr Marandi echoes her.

Another woman friend in Dumka, his home district, was given a 12-katha land, adjacent to Dumka circuit house, after Mr Marandi became the chief minister. Mr Marandi stays in the circuit house whenever he goes to Dumka. “The allotment of 12 katha of land was made in gross violation of all norms”, CPI-ML MLA Mr Mahendra Singh said. “Why should a particular woman of Dumka be allotted land in a posh area?” He further said that Mr Marandi disappeared from the Dumka guest house for three hours at night, a couple of months ago, embarrassing his securitymen. The Dumka Superintendent of Police subsequently wrote to the union Home Ministry that “it will be difficult for the police to ensure security to the Chief Minister if he goes with his habit of disappearing without informing the security personnel.”

Mr Marandi is even called a “modern day Shrikrishna” in political circles. The Cabinet recently decided to give laptops to all the ministers to maintain “data of development” work in the departments. Where’s the development, people wonder.

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