CPI(ML)L general secretary Dipankar Bhattacharya speaks during the Shiksha Bachao Desh Bachao Seminar at IMA hall, in Patna on Sunday, October 4, 2026.
| Photo Credit: ANI
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.
The trial court had also imposed a fine of ₹25 lakh on the legislator while criticising the culture of celebratory firing. It had remarked that “we need neither a Singham nor a Pushpa in a State governed by the rule of law”.
Mr. Bhattacharya questioned the role of the Bihar Assembly Speaker and pointed out that three months have passed since Raju Singh was convicted by Delhi’s Rouse Avenue Court on July 4, 2026, yet his Assembly membership has not been terminated.
“Why is the Assembly Speaker failing to make a decision on this matter?” Mr. Bhattacharya asked while speaking to reporters in Patna.
He added, “Manoj Manzil’s membership was revoked immediately after his conviction on February 12, 2024. Subsequently, a by-election was held in the Agiaon (SC) Assembly constituency alongside the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.”
Mr. Bhattacharya asked why different standards are being applied in cases of conviction within the same Assembly.
“If laws and constitutional provisions apply equally to all elected representatives, why has there been no action from the Assembly Speaker regarding BJP MLA Raju Singh, even after three months? The Assembly Speaker must clarify the situation and explain why the decision on Raju Singh’s membership remains pending,” Mr. Bhattacharya said.
He asserted that in a democracy, the application of the law must be equal and impartial; there cannot be different standards based on an individual’s political identity or party affiliation.
The Ara MP/MLA court on February 13, 2024, had sentenced Manoj Manzil to life imprisonment in a nine-year-old murder case. Along with Mr. Manzil, 22 others were sentenced to life imprisonment in the case related to the murder of one J.P. Singh during the 2015 Assembly election in Bihar.
Mr. Manzil, a 40-year-old firebrand Dalit leader, was a first-time MLA who had secured victory by defeating Janata Dal (United) candidate Prabhunath Prasad in the 2020 Bihar Assembly election.
Published – October 04, 2026 07:28 pm IST
