Office of profit: EC refuses to meet UPA

Denying that the refusal was a snub to the UPA delegation, a Left legislator said "we accept and respect the Commission's reply".

The Election Commission has refused to meet the Jharkhand unit of the UPA while examining the status of its 19 MLAs over the office of profit issue.

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"When JMM chief and Union Minister Shibu Soren sent a letter to the Commission seeking an appointment, the Commission replied that since the matter had become quasi-judicial, it could not meet any person or side," CPI(ML-liberation) leader Vinod Singh said.

Denying that the refusal was a snub to the UPA delegation, the Left legislator said "we accept and respect the Commission's reply".

The Commission is in the process of scrutinising the status of 19 MLAs - 13 from NDA, including Chief Minister Arjun Munda, and six from the UPA - after Jharkhand Governor Syed Sibtey Razi sought its opinion.