MANISH GUPTA
Ranchi, Sept 5: The Hemant Soren government on Monday won the vote of trust by 48 is to zero temporarily buying relief from the political uncertainty that had erupted after a disqualification case against Soren, which is yet to be concluded, came to light.
“Legislators who voted in favour of the government are 48 and those who voted against are zero suggesting the House continues to have faith in the current cabinet,” said Jharkhand Assembly Speaker Rabindra Nath Mahato as BJP MLAs walked out of the House.
Notably, the ruling UPA combine has 49 MLAs comprising 30 JMM MLAs, 18 Congress MLAs and one RJD MLA. A majority needs the support of 42 MLAs. Three Congress MLAs were arrested in Bengal in a cash seizure case and have been barred from leaving Kolkata for three months.
The one-day special session was called by the JMM-led government after Governor Ramesh Bais continued to remain silent on the office-of-profit case against Soren that could lead to his disqualification. The suspense has made the UPA MLAs tense.
Several legislators from both sides including Babulal Marandi, Pradeep Yadav, Sudesh Mahato and Saryu Roy spoke on the situation of law and order in the state, loss of faith among legislators in the ruling alliance and the need for holding a vote of trust.
“The opposition says what was the need to have the vote of trust but we want to prove our strength in the House. Our best effort is to convince the 3.25 crore people of the state but cannot do much about your (opposition) wishes,” Soren said, alleging the BJP of trying to poach their MLAs including the three Congress MLAs arrested in Bengal.
The Soren government had shifted maximum of the UPA legislators to Raipur to prevent any poaching attempt by the BJP and were brought to Ranchi a day before on Sunday.
Blaming the BJP for the current uncertainty in the state, Soren said that the BJP is yet to digest the fact that the public threw them out of power in 2019 after they did nothing for the poor except making elephants fly during their rule between 2014 and 2019.
“It was fortunate that we were running the government during the pandemic. We took good care of the backward state. Had they been in power I dread to think what would have been the condition of the poor tribals and dalits in the state,” Soren said.
The Chief Minister said that the BJP’s government in the Centre has left no effort to sell India and its democracy since 2014. They are not just favouring the businessmen but a select group of businessmen and waiving off crores of rupees lent to them, he said.
Soren also blasted the media – national, international, television channels, newspapers and social media for carrying out the Manuvadi propaganda. “I am deeply saddened to see those who should be protecting secularism are actually dividing and polarising the country,” he said, adding that he is a tribal and son of a revolutionary and would not buckle under the pressure tactics of the BJP.
“The BJP is going to be wiped out in 2024,” he added.
