The post of Director General of Police (DGP) has remained vacant in Jharkhand for the past eleven days, triggering a fresh political row in the state.

Senior BJP leader and Leader of the Opposition Babulal Marandi has launched a scathing attack on the state government, alleging “collapse of constitutional governance”. The ruling Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM), in turn, has dismissed the remarks as “baseless and desperate”.

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In a strongly-worded statement shared on social media, Marandi said Jharkhand has become the first state in the country where the DGP post is lying vacant and the officer functioning in the role is serving without a salary. He sarcastically remarked that this is a “new model of governance based on corruption—without salary, without constitutional validity”.

Marandi accused the state government of violating Article 312 of the Constitution and ignoring the Supreme Court’s directives in the Prakash Singh vs Union of India case, which laid down guidelines for police reforms. He mockingly suggested that the government now invite “retired and experienced” individuals to work on a commission basis in revenue-generating districts like Dhanbad, Hazaribagh, Ramgarh, and Bokaro.

He further alleged that Jharkhand Public Service Commission (JPSC) chairs are being sold out, and even UPSC-selected officers are being subjected to a “rate list”. According to him, the state has now institutionalized a system where “merit no longer matters—only facilitation fees ensure appointments.”

In response, JMM General Secretary and spokesperson Vinod Pandey accused Babulal Marandi of resorting to baseless accusations to stay politically relevant. He asserted that the very administrative decay Marandi is decrying was seeded during his own tenure as chief minister.

The JMM maintained that the process to appoint the DGP is being followed as per rules and that there was no violation of constitutional procedures. Pandey claimed that under Chief Minister Hemant Soren’s leadership, the state is progressing and every section of society is benefitting from government initiatives.

He challenged Marandi to produce evidence if he had any instead of misleading the public with falsehoods. The JMM also questioned how many times Marandi’s own government had disregarded Supreme Court orders and misused constitutional positions for political gain.