Wednesday, June 15 2005 08:47 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Ranchi: The Opposition in the Jharkhand Assembly yesterday (Jun 14, 2005) renewed their demand for disqualification of house membership of Water Resource Minister Kamlesh Singh and Rural Development Minister Enos Ekka.

According to the Opposition, Ekka was issued a whip from his Jharkhand Party to vote in favour of the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) and Singh had the same direction from his Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) during the trust vote taken by the Arjun Munda Government on March 15.

"But both of them went against their party whips voting in favour of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA)," UPA convenor Stephen Marandi told reporters in Ranchi.

Submitting a memorandum to Speaker Inder Singh Namdhari, the Opposition urged him to take up the disqualification issue immediately as already a petition on the matter was pending with the chair.

Jharkhand Party President N E Horo even moved the High Court to issue a direction to the Speaker to take up the disqualification of Ekka as his petition had been pending with the chair. The court had disposed off the petition on May 20.

Soon after Horo's petition to the Speaker to disqualify Ekka, the latter called a meeting of a section of party leaders and proclaimed himself as the party President, 'removing' Horo.

After being sworn-in as a minister in the short-lived Sibhu Soren Government, NCP MLA and Water Resources Minister Kamlesh Singh switched side to the NDA.