Dipankar Bhattacharya questions Bihar Assembly Speaker over BJP MLA’s continued membership
CPI(ML)L leader Dipankar Bhattacharya has publicly questioned the Bihar Assembly Speaker regarding the delay in terminating the membership of a convicted BJP MLA. He contrasts this with the swift removal of a CPI(ML)L MLA following a similar conviction, alleging a double standard in legislative action.
Why it matters
This highlights concerns regarding political accountability and the potential for partisan bias in the enforcement of legislative disqualification rules.
Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) Liberation general secretary Dipankar Bhattacharya on Sunday (October 4, 2026) questioned why there has been no decision on Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA Raju Singh’s membership despite being convicted in a celebratory firing case that led to the death of a woman.
Mr. Bhattacharya said that in the case of CPI(ML)L MLA Manoj Manzil, a different approach was adopted and his membership was immediately terminated following conviction in a murder case. Mr. Bhattacharya sought an answer and raised questions about the intention of Bihar Legislative Assembly Speaker Prem Kumar.
Mr. Singh, an MLA from Sahebganj in Bihar, was sentenced to four years of simple imprisonment by a trial court on July 4 for the death of Archana Gupta, who was shot during the New Year’s Eve party at a farmhouse in Delhi’s Fatehpur Beri area on December 31, 2018.
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