VIJAY DEO JHA
Ranchi, Mar 5: Former minister and MLA of Jamshedpur (East) Saryu Roy, has taunted state health minister Banna Gupta as more of a freelancer than a minister who keeps giving juicy bites to the media but remains silent in the assembly.
Roy was referring to a repeated statement made by Banna Gupta against the exclusion of Hindi from competitive examination in Jharkhand by the Hemant Soren government to which he is the minister.
“Lately I have seen Banna Gupta has been quite vocal in opposing the exclusion of Hindi. During the Chintan Shivir of his party (the Congress), he raised this issue and said that he would not tolerate insults to Maa Bharti and Hindi. He has repeated his statement once again. But he remains silent on the floor of the House. He should have raised this issue here instead of speaking outside. He is more freelance than a minister,” Roy said.
The budget session of the assembly is going on and Roy said that he is now planning to raise this matter before the assembly. “The ongoing language controversy is purely a policy issue to which the minister is part. He is vocal outside of the House but remains silent in the assembly. I will raise this matter in the assembly and I will request the Speaker of the House to direct the minister to speak on this matter on the floor of the house,” Roy said.
Roy alleged that the minister was least concerned about the exclusion of Hindi. “His statement is a kind of posturing to prepare a future political ground. I believe that he is counting his days in the ministry so he can tell his supporters that he was removed from the cabinet for speaking the cause of Hindi. And if this is not then the minister should raise his objection in the House,” Roy said.
Banna Gupta could not be contacted for his remarks but insiders of the party said that it was political brinkmanship. “Those who vote for him constitute a vast segment of Hindi and Bhojpuri population so he needs to show a brave face that he is opposing and ready to sacrifice. But he can’t go too far away like opposing the government on the floor of the House,” said the leader.
