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The crisis in the Jharkhand Congress may have blown over for now, but party leaders fear the after effects of the open protest by eight of their MLAs will linger.
The eight spent five days in Delhi, declaring openly that they hoped to petition the high command over the party’s decision to continue with the existing four MLAs as ministers in the newly sworn-in Champai Soren government. They returned to Ranchi on February 21 apparently empty-handed, but giving enough jitters to a party that is walking on eggshells as the BJP hovers over Jharkhand’s fragile ruling coalition.
“Whatever the discontent, their actions were not right,” said a senior Congress leader, a day after the return of the MLAs, admitting that it opened the doors for the BJP to try its chances.
According to the leader, the MLAs got “played”, and eventually returned because the Budget Session began in the state on Friday. Given the thin majority of the JMM-Congress-RJD government, their non-presence could have led to another crisis.
The government has been on the edge since the arrest of JMM leader Hemant Soren, who seems to have saved the day for now and passed the baton on to Champai as CM.
Since he expanded his Cabinet on February 16, discontent has been brewing among the Congress MLA ranks.
Among the eight who went to Delhi, Irfan Ansari, said: “We demanded that the incumbents (from the Congress) be removed since their performance has not been great, and the top leadership was not in the loop on this.”
As per a senior Congress leader, the original demand was to replace just two of the ministers, which was later expanded to all four. “However, the senior leadership was told that removing anybody at this point, when the party is facing both the Lok Sabha and Jharkhand elections, would send the wrong message.”
According to this leader, the eight MLAs waited fruitlessly to meet the senior leadership in Delhi. “They were finally only given an assurance that their point of view had been taken into consideration. As of now, no change seems likely.”
Incidentally, on their return, the eight MLAs indicated the peace might be temporary. Ansari pointed fingers at own party ministers for the fact that Hemant Soren had landed in jail.
Asked about the statements by the Jharkhand Congress chief and Congress Legislature Party leader that the status quo will prevail, Bermo MLA Kumar Jaimangal told reporters: “If they were so competent, the MLAs would not have gone to Delhi.”
Taking a dig at the latest turmoil in the Congress, BJP state spokesperson Ramakant Mahato said it showed that the ruling alliance’s MLAs do not trust their own government. “These MLAs never went to Delhi regarding the problems of youth, women, tribals or the indigenous people of the state… Politics of selfishness is in the DNA of Congressmen. Now they are bargaining with their own people as well. They neither love Jharkhand nor its people. They are concerned only with their own interests,” Mahato said.
While the JMM has not commented on the Congress MLAs’ move officially, a party leader rued at the public expression of dissent. “We hope there will be no more spectacles of this sort.”
