Amid the political crisis in Jharkhand, Chief Minister Hemant Soren on Saturday called a third meeting of the state’s ruling coalition members at his residence in Ranchi at 11 am.
According to sources close to the ruling UPA, strategies were being chalked out at the meeting to ensure that there was no threat to the government. The ruling coalition has maintained that there is no threat to the government. However, the BJP has called for mid-term elections.
According to sources, Jharkhand Governor Ramesh Bais is likely to send his recommendation to ECI on the disqualification of Soren today (Saturday). The final decision now lies in a sealed envelope with the Governor who will take a call today.
Reacting to the developments in the state, Jharkhand CM Hemant Soren, in a tweet, said “This is a tribal son. Never have our ways ever been stopped by their tactics nor have we ever been afraid. Our ancestors have long removed the feeling of fear from us. There’s no place of fear in the DNA of us Adivasis.”
A second meeting was held on Friday amid the intense speculation about the political fate of CM Soren at his residence. JMM has said it will move the Supreme Court if Soren is disqualified as an MLA.
A few insiders from the Congress, which is a crucial ally of the JMM-led ruling coalition here, told PTI on the condition of anonymity that “ring-fencing” MLAs by parking them in a resort in a “friendly state” such as West Bengal, Bihar or Chhattisgarh is being considered as an option to avoid legislator poaching by the BJP.
However, they said, a decision on the future course of action can be taken once Governor Ramesh Bais communicates to them the Election Commission’s opinion on the possible disqualification of the Soren as an MLA for allegedly violating electoral norms by extending himself a mining lease.
Sources in the Raj Bhavan had on Thursday claimed that the EC recommended Soren’s disqualification as an MLA, but there is no official confirmation as yet.
Soren, who was in Latehar to attend a programme, lashed out at Centre, during the day, for “unleashing” all constitutional agencies to “de-stabilise a democratically elected government”.
The JMM executive president said “satanic forces” were all out to execute evil designs.
In a tweet, he later said, “The Centre has unleashed all agencies on me after I asked for legitimate Rs 1.36 lakh crore dues which are pending to the state. When they saw that they cannot harm me, they are trying to harass ‘Guruji’ (Shibu Soren), who is in a certain age bracket, to get to me.” The BJP, the petitioner in the case, has sought Soren’s disqualification for violating Section 9(A) of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, which deals with disqualification for government contracts.
The clause states that “a person shall be disqualified if, and for so long as, there subsists a contract entered into by him in the course of his trade or business with the appropriate government for the supply of goods to, or for the execution of any works undertaken by, that government”.
The ruling coalition has 49 MLAs in the 81-member Assembly. The JMM, as the largest party, has 30 MLAs, the Congress 18 legislators, and the RJD one. The main opposition BJP has 26 MLAs in the House.
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