M A I N   N E W S

Jharkhand heads for President’s Rule
Miffed BJP does a flip-flop on support to BJP
Tribune News Service

New Delhi, April 28
A miffed BJP today decided to withdraw support to the four-month old JMM-led government in Jharkhand, in which BJP’s Raghubar Das is the Deputy Chief Minister. The decision taken by the party’s parliamentary board followed Soren’s surprise vote for the UPA in the Lok Sabha yesterday.

The decision will reduce the coalition government to a minority and plunge the state into another period of political instability. Jharkhand, which has witnessed an independent MLA Madhu Koda running the show as Chief Minister for 23 months, has had seven governments in nine and a half months.The Congress, which has only 14 members in the Assembly and has a combined strength of only 25 with its ally Jharkhand Vikas Morcha (P), is in no position to prop up a government. The state, therefore, seems headed towards another spell of President’s Rule though the Assembly may be kept in suspended animation.

BJP parliamentary board took cognisance of the fact that Soren, considered a dependable ally of the BJP came here and supported the UPA government during cut motions. Since Soren has not yet got elected to Jharkhand Assembly he has not resigned his Lok Sabha seat.

An incensed BJP leadership met party president Nitin Gadkari this morning and announced its decision to immediately withdraw support to the Jharkhand government.

It directed state party chief and Jharkhand Deputy Chief Minister Rameshwar Dass, who attended today’s meeting, to go to Ranchi and hand over the letter of withdrawal of support to Governor MOH Farook. Later, Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Sushma Swaraj said Dass would go this evening along with all the BJP ministers to the Governor and hand over the resignation letters of all the ministers as well as the withdrawal letter.

However, in a late night development, there were indications that the BJP was reviewing the decision. Sources said Soren expressed his regret for going against the BJP diktat and then sections in the party led by president Gadkari as well as former chief Rajnath Singh urged the party to reconsider the decision.

In fact last night, immediately after casting his vote, he rushed to meet Gadkari and dined with the BJP president where those close to him tried to plead that since the old man is suffering from Alzheimer he may have done this unwittingly.

But Sushma refused to buy the line and insisted that Soren had wilfully decided to vote against the BJP.

BJP is clearly hoping to expose the Congress by not demanding either suspension or dissolution of the Assembly. The party has not even demanded President’s Rule in the state. Instead Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Sushma Swaraj said, “We will sit in the Opposition.”

She conceded that Soren’s decision to vote for the Government opposing the cut motions came as a shock to her and her party. Barely two days ago she had said, “We don’t know which way Lalu, Mulayam and Mayawati will go but we have our 153 members (of the NDA), including two from the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha, intact and they will all vote for the cut motion.”

She had then said that since Shibu Soren is still a member of the Lok Sabha, he would be coming to vote with them. She also discussed in detail with Soren’s son Hemant Soren how the other JMM MP, Kameshwar Baitha, a former Maoist currently held in Ranchi jail, could come and exercise his vote.

But today a crestfallen Swaraj recalled, “Nishikant Dubey (Godda MP) went up to Soren to ask him to press the green button. But he pressed the red one. Then again he took the red slip even though Dubey asked him to take the green slip signifying Ayes for the cut motion.”Sections within the BJP are questioning the wisdom of the party to have formed the Government with him just four months ago. When asked about it Sushma said, “Our compulsions were different then; we wanted to keep Congress out of power.”