Babulal Marandi, the state president of the BJP and the Leader of Opposition in Jharkhand, has directly challenged Chief Minister Hemant Soren over the conferral of a police award. While acknowledging the CM’s power to grant honors, Marandi focused on the impending award for Constable Ranjit Rana of JAP-2. Marandi revealed that Rana, positioned 27th on the list of awardees, has no history of participating in Naxal operations. For years, starting in 2015, Rana has reportedly been the computer operator for Anurag Gupta. Marandi went further, labeling Rana as an alleged helper, confidant, and partner in Gupta’s alleged criminal activities, issues previously brought to the CM’s attention. The opposition leader painted a picture of Rana as someone known throughout the police department and involved in all sorts of illegal ventures, from coal theft to other ‘black deeds.’ The central question Marandi posed is: what ‘commendable service’ has Rana rendered to deserve a police medal? He questioned if complicity in senior officials’ illegal activities and participation in their ‘plundering’ now constitutes ‘commendable service’ under the Jharkhand government. Marandi suggested that if this award is an error, it should be brought to the CM’s notice, while respecting the CM’s final decision.
