RANCHI: After days of hectic parleys and a picnic gig to show unity, about a dozen MLAs of the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) led by Jharkhand chief minister Hemant Soren on Sunday mounted an attack on the Raj Bhavan, urging governor Ramesh Bais to reveal the Election Commission (EC) directive, believed to have been sent in Soren’s office-of-profit case.
They claimed that the “deliberate delay” of making the EC letter public is an attempt to allow horse-trading by BJP.
The EC has reportedly sent its recommendation in Soren’s mine lease allotment case to Raj Bhavan early this week. While the grapevine suggests that Soren stands “disqualified” as an MLA, the Raj Bhavan hasn’t spoken on it a word so far.
Earlier in the day, Soren met Jharkhand Congress minder Avinash Pande at the state guest house followed by a meeting with the UPA MLAs at his residence over tea.
‘Delay in revealing EC directive will allow horse-trading by BJP’
Until Saturday night, sources said the CM had planned another outing of UPA MLAs to Netarhat on Sunday but the ruling camp altered the course with an aim to turn the tables on BJP and Raj Bhavan over the governor’s sustained silence.
Criticising the Raj Bhavan’s stand, MLAs of the UPA said the “deliberate” delay in revealing the EC letter indicates a calculated attempt to allow horse-trading by BJP to destabilise the government headed by a tribal. They also added that the deliberate attempt to create uncertainty is an “insult to the democratically elected government” and “public sentiment”.
Champai Soren, state transport minister and veteran JMM MLA from Seraikela, said, “Goa, Maharashtra, Delhi…just to name a few states where BJP constantly played its destabilising game and it is where the role of Raj Bhavan, a constitutional institution, has also come under question. Going by the current situation in Jharkhand, we are forced to believe that similar attempts are on here. Why is Raj Bhavan silent? Why is it not taking any decision on the EC letter?”
Banna Gupta, state health minister and Congress MLA, urged the governor to reveal the contents of the letter. “Take action immediately and notify whether the EC has sent any letter regarding our CM or clear the stand. We are prepared and reply within 24 hours. But make no mistake, we have the support of 50 MLAs and there is absolutely no threat to our government.”
Lashing out at BJP MP from Godda, Nishikant Dubey, who has been tweeting developments related to ED and EC among others even before official communications, Gupta said, “This state can’t run based on tweets by a BJP MP. Who is he? Is he a chowkidar? Astrologer?”
A few other MLAs – Stephen Marandi (Maheshpur), Amba Prasad (Barkagaon), Deepika Pandey (Mahagama), minister Satyanand Bhokta (Chatra), Kumar Jaimangal (Bermo), Sarfaraz Ahmad (Gande), Mathura Prasad Mahto (Tundi), Bhushan Bara (Gumla) among others – also echoed the sentiment of the leaders.
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