Trouble for Champai Soren govt: Congress MLAs reach Delhi to protest allocation of ministerial berths
Delhi/Ranchi: Amid turbulent intra-party dynamics within the Jharkhand Congress, eight party legislators have reportedly reached Delhi to air their dissatisfaction over the inclusion of four party MLAs as ministers in the Champai Soren-led JMM government, media reported.
As many as 12 Congress legislators have threatened to boycott the upcoming Jharkhand Assembly session starting from February 23 and go to Jaipur if the four new inductees are not replaced.
Eight of the 12 lawmakers have conveyed their unhappiness and lodged their protest with the party high command in Delhi in connection with the issue, said the report.
The opposing MLAs are against Congress’s decision to give ministerial berths to Alamgir Alam, Rameshwar Oraon, Banna Gupta and Badal Patralekh again, according to reports.
According to media reports, Bermo MLA Kumar Jaimangal said that the 12 MLAs have already submitted a signed letter to the Congress party chief on the matter.
He also hinted at a potential revolt if the high command failed to address their demands.
The JMM-led alliance in the state comprises 47 MLAs (JMM has 29, Congress has 17, and RJD has one) out of the 81-member assembly.
Earlier, the 12 MLAs gathered at the Ranchi Circuit House just ahead of the swearing-in ceremony on Friday with the intention of boycotting it.
However, after being persuaded by Jharkhand Congress in-charge Ghulam Ahmed Mir and PCC chief Rajesh Thakur, they later joined the ceremony.
According to media reports, the disgruntled MLAs want a minister from each division to cover all the five divisions in the state and also demanded that the "one person, one post" rule made by Rahul Gandhi be implemented.
Moreover, most of the Congress MLAs opposed the nomination of Banna Gupta, particularly in light of recent controversy. Gupta had come under scrutiny after BJP MP Nishikant Dubey shared a video allegedly depicting him involved in an "obscene" phone conversation with a woman. Gupta has strongly denied the allegations, calling the video “fake” and “edited”.
Out of the 11-member Champai Soren cabinet, only two legislators are new additions: Basant Soren, the youngest son of JMM supremo Shibu Soren, and JMM's Chaibasa MLA Deepak Birua.
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