Amid the ongoing political turmoil in the wake of reports of Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren’s possible disqualification as an MLA, leaders of state’s ruling JMM-Congress coalition met Governor Ramesh Bais on Thursday.
As uncertainty looms over Soren’s continuation as the chief minister of the state, the CM accused the Opposition BJP of a conspiracy to “destabilise” the incumbent government. Complaining that “leaks” from the governor’s office is resulting in a political upheaval in the state, MLAs of the ruling coalition, in a letter, urged the governor to “clear the air”.
“The purported selective leaks from Your Excellency’s office are creating a state of chaos, confusion and uncertainty which vitiates the administration and governance of the state. This also encourages political brinkmanship to destabilise the democratically elected government headed by Hemant Soren by illegal means,” the letter pointed out.
Claiming that the disqualification of the chief minister won’t impact the government as the coalition has the numbers, the letter requested that the governor to “declare the opinion (if any) received from the Election Commission”.
There are reports that suggest that the Election Commission is heading for the disqualification of the chief minister after the BJP complained of an office of profit case.
Meanwhile, the saffron party took a jibe at the CM accusing him of violation of election rules by extending a mining lease to himself.
There has, however, been no official remark from the governor in the matter.
The ruling coalition, meanwhile, has transported its MLAs to Chhattisgarh, a Congress-ruled state, calling out the BJP for attempting to carry out an “Operation Lotus” to destabilise an elected government.
The BJP has been demanding that the Chief Minister resign on “moral grounds” and a midterm election be held.
Earlier on Saturday, Soren had called a meeting of the state’s ruling coalition amidst speculation about his possible disqualification as an MLA from the state assembly for allegedly violating poll norms by extending himself a mining lease.
The ruling coalition has 49 MLAs in the 81-member Jharkhand Assembly, with CM’s JMM having 30 MLAs, 18 MLAs of the Congress and one MLA of the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD).
The Chief Minister’s office released a statement on Thursday as speculation about ECI sending a report to the state governor about Soren’s disqualification made it to political air.