E-Paper
J’khand Governor back after week-long Delhi visit, no word on Soren
Bais left for New Delhi on September 2 morning, a day after a delegation of the state’s ruling coalition met and asked him to clear the air on the report sent to him by ECI on CM Soren.
Jharkhand Governor Ramesh Bais Thursday returned to state capital Ranchi after a week-long stay in New Delhi, but there was no word on the recommendation sent earlier by Election Commission of India (ECI) on chief minister Hemant Soren, who has been accused of holding an office of profit, a charge that could potentially disqualify him as a member of Legislative Assembly (MLA).
While Raj Bhawan is still to make public its decision, Bais chose not to speak to media after his arrival at Birsa Munda airport in Ranchi.
“We can’t tell when would a decision be taken on the issue,” a Raj Bhawan official said.
Bais left for New Delhi on September 2 morning, a day after a delegation of the state’s ruling coalition met and asked him to clear the air on the report sent to him by ECI on CM Soren.
In the memorandum submitted to Raj Bhawan, the coalition had called “selective leaks” from the Governor’s office on the ECI report unfortunate and said they were creating confusion and uncertainty.
While the delegation, after the meeting, had claimed that the Governor had assured them to take a call in two-three days, the Raj Bhawan, in a statement, had said they would take “adequate measures soon”.
On August 25, Bais received the ECI report in a sealed envelope, which stoked speculation about Soren’s disqualification as an MLA.
CM Soren is accused of illegally receiving a mining licence. The Opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) claims it amounts to holding an office of profit and had submitted a complaint to the Governor, who had sought ECI recommendation.
Even as Bais remained stationed in New Delhi on a trip that was described by Raj Bhawan officials as personal, the Hemant Soren goverment called a one-day session on September 5 and proved its majority in the House by getting the confidence motion passed 48-0 when 78 members were available for voting in the 81-member assembly. The main opposition BJP and few others had walked out at time to voting.
In his reply to the discussion on the confidence motion in the assembly, CM Soren took a swipe at Raj Bhawan for its continued silence over the issue, saying the Governor left for New Delhi through the “backdoor” after the ruling coalition delegation met him with request to make the ECI opinion public.
“As far as the strength of this government is concerned, we have already proved that in the assembly and showed the ‘Operation Lotus’ won’t work here. Governor is the custodian of the Constitution. He accepted before our delegation that he has received the opinion he sought from the ECI. We have repeatedly urged him to make the ECI opinion public and announce his order and end the artificial political uncertainty that has been created in the state. Whatever be the decision, we would make our moves accordingly,” said JMM spokesperson Manoj Pandey.
