RANCHI: The opposition on Wednesday slammed the Raghubar Das government's silence over the Election Commission of India's (ECI) directive to take action against additional director general (ADG) in state police Anurag Gupta and political advisor to Chief minister Raghubar Das, Ajay Kumar, for influencing voters in 2016 Rajya Sabha elections. ECI's letter to the state chief secretary Rajbala Verma was issued on June 13 but surfaced only on Tuesday.Addressing a press conference here, leader of opposition and Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) Hemant Soren demanded the immediate resignation of Chief minister Raghubar Das and Rajya Sabha MP Mahesh Poddar. "Our candidate for the Rajya Sabha election Basant Soren lost due to unfair means adopted by the ruling party and the misuse of government machinery," Soren said.The JMM leader also announced to take up the case with Union home minister Rajnath Singh and seek his intervention if the state government failed to act on the direction of the constitutional body. "This is mockery of democracy if state officials misuse government machinery to influence elections and refuse to take action after being pulled up by the election commission," Soren said.The Congress also upped its ante against the Das government and accused it of trying to brush ECI's orders under the carpet. Addressing a press meet at the party's state headquarters, state Congress president Sukhdeo Bhagat said, "A week has passed but the chief secretary is yet to initiate any action."Bhagat also dared Prime Minister Narendra Modi to force Das and BJP Rajya Sabha members Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi and Mahesh Poddar to tender their resignation from their respective offices. "PM Modi talks about zero tolerance towards corruption. The state government's silence proves that it has no regard for the constitutional framework. We hope PM Modi forces Das and the other two members to resign," he said.The Congress further urged Governor Draupadi Murmu's intervention and exercise her constitutional powers 'for saving the failing democracy' in the state. The party also announced that it will take the matter to President and vice-president if the government delays any further.Nidhi Khare, government spokesperson and principal secretary, department of personnel and administrative reforms said the letters for action have been forwarded to respective department heads. "The matter of ADG police will be dealt by the home department whereas that of press advisor will be handled by the department of cabinet coordination," she said. Home secretary SKG Rahate said they received the letter of commission only a couple of days ago and that it was under process. "After examining all aspects, the government will take a position accordingly," he said.

Stay updated with all the Latest Ranchi headlines here. For more exclusive & live news updates from all around India, stay connected with NYOOOZ.