Jharkhand JMM Coalition MLAs Say 'Leaks from Governor's Office Creating Chaos', Call on Ramesh Bais
New Delhi: Leaders of Jharkhand’s ruling JMM-Congress coalition on Thursday, September 1 told Jharkhand governor Ramesh Bais that it was shocked over "selective leaks from the governor’s office" on chief minister Hemant Soren's disqualification as a legislator.
The delegation said such leaks created chaos, confusion and uncertainty. It added that speculations on Soren's fate has encouraged the destablisation of a democratically elected government.
It further said that the disqualification of the chief minister as MLA will not affect the government, as the ruling JMM-Congress-RJD coalition enjoys an absolute majority in the 81-member House.
According to the Indian Express, they submitted a memorandum urging the governor to “clear the air” regarding Soren’s disqualification by the Election Commission.
The newspaper reported, citing an official statement, that the governor assured the leaders that “appropriate action” would be taken to lay all confusion at rest.
Four ministers of Jharkhand’s ruling coalition were flown back to Ranchi on the evening of Wednesday, August 31; days after a number of coalition MLAs were flown to Raipur in neighbouring Chhattisgarh amid fears of poaching as the political crisis in the state continues to unfold.
As an announcement on chief minister Hemant Soren’s potential disqualification as an MLA is awaited, on Tuesday, around 32 MLAs of the ruling Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM)-Congress-Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) alliance were flown to the neighbouring non-Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-ruled state.
Subsequently on Wednesday, the travelling legislators were moved to the Mayfair Golf Resort in Nava Raipur.
The four ministers – Alamgir Alam, Banna Gupta, Rameshwar Oraon, and Badal Patralekh – who were staying at the resort accompanied fellow minister Satyanand Bhokta on a flight back to Ranchi late on Tuesday, reportedly to attend a cabinet meeting slated for Thursday.
“We [the Ministers] are going back for a Cabinet meeting scheduled on Thursday. What the BJP has done in Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka and Goa, it wanted to replicate it in Jharkhand. There are reports that our CM has been disqualified while the Election Commission's decision is yet to be made public. Although we are not afraid as we have numbers," Alam told reporters at Raipur airport, according to news agency PTI.
Meanwhile, MLA Pradeep Yadav, who was flown out to Raipur with Bokta on Wednesday, went on to join his colleagues at the resort.
Chief minister Soren did not join the legislators in Raipur.
Also read: Jharkhand: Ruling Coalition MLAs Moved To Raipur To Stave Off Possible Poaching By BJP
Following a petition by the BJP seeking Soren’s disqualification as an MLA for allegedly granting a mining lease to himself (in violation of Section 9 (A) of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, which deals with disqualification for government contracts), the Election Commission sent its opinion on the same to Jharkhand governor Bais on August 25.
According to Article 192 of the Constitution, on rulings regarding an MLA’s disqualification, the question shall be referred to the governor who, in turn, “shall obtain the opinion of the Election Commission and shall act according to such opinion”.
Bais, however, has not yet announced his decision on Soren’s potential disqualification.
In a joint statement on August 28, the constituents of the ruling coalition – the JMM, Congress and the RJD – had accused the governor of encouraging political horse-trading by “deliberately delaying” announcing a decision on the chief minister’s membership of the legislature.
As the crisis continues, members of the ruling coalition have expressed fears that the BJP, the largest opposition in the state, will attempt to poach MLAs in order to form a new government in state, just as it had done in Maharashtra in June this year, and in other states prior.
The ruling coalition currently has 49 of the 81 MLAs in the state assembly. The JMM, the largest party, has 30 MLAs; the Congress, 18 legislators, and the RJD, one. The main opposition BJP has 26 MLAs in the house.
(With PTI inputs)
(This story was initially published at 1:55 pm on Thursday, September 1 and has been republished at 8 pm on the same date with details regarding the JMM delegation's meeting with the governor).
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