Jharkhand Exclusive: All You Need To Know About The Jharkhand Crisis!

Chief Minister Hemant Soren held a meeting on August 27 with ruling MLAs of Jharkhand at his residence. Soon after the meeting was concluded, three buses were seen leaving the venue to an undisclosed location with the ruling MLAs on board. The United Progressive Alliance (UPA) has considered shifting its MLAs after speculating that CM Soren’s would be disqualified over a mining lease case.

Image Source: India Today

CM Soren and his MLAs and ministers arrived at a guest house near Latratu dam in Jharkhand’s Khunti district hours after leaving Ranchi. A heavy police force has been stationed in the area. Soon after arriving in the Khunti district, Satyanand Bhokta, a Soren camp minister, stated that all MLAs and ministers were present and would travel to other locations. Still, they did not know where they would go next.

Jharkhand | Visuals from a guest house near Latratu dam in Khunti dist where CM Hemant Soren & UPA MLAs & ministers have come from Ranchi pic.twitter.com/XNFci85D5P

— ANI (@ANI) August 27, 2022

While speaking with ABP News, CM Soren’s brother, Basant Soren, said, “We feel we are going on a picnic. There is no threat, the government is stable.” However, he did not reveal the location where the buses were headed. Basant Soren is an elected MLA associated with the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha.

Image Source: Times of India

Citing sources, news agencies reported that CM Soren held a second meeting that day where strategies were chalked out to ensure that the Jharkhand state government remains stable.

On the condition of anonymity, a few insiders from the Congress party, a vital ally of the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha-led ruling coalition, told news agencies that “ring-fencing” MLAs by taking them to a resort in “friendly states” such as West Bengal, Bihar, or Chhattisgarh is being considered to avoid legislator poaching by the BJP.

Image Source: Times of India

However, they told PTI that a decision on the future course of action could be made once Governor Ramesh Bais communicates the Election Commission’s opinion on Soren’s possible disqualification as an MLA for allegedly violating electoral norms by extending himself a mining lease.

According to the report, Raj Bhavan sources claimed on Thursday that the Election Commission had recommended Soren’s disqualification as an MLA, but there has been no official confirmation yet. Amid a rapidly shifting political landscape, sources said on Friday that Bais would likely send a disqualification order to the Election Commission (EC) on Saturday.

Image Source: The Telegraph India

CM Soren, however, refuted all the reports and attacked the Centre by accusing them of “unleashing” all constitutional agencies to “de-stabilize a democratically elected government.”

The petitioner in the case, the BJP, has requested that Soren be disqualified for violating Section 9(A) of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, which deals with disqualification for government contracts.

References: ABP News

Featured Image Source: Deccan Herald