VIJAY DEO JHA
Ranchi, Feb. 8: Rahul Gandhi has directed AICC secretary K. C. Venugopal to discuss the matter of the vacant cabinet berth in Jharkhand with Chief Minister Hemant Soren. Gandhi directed Venugopal after the Congress MLAs from Jharkhand raised this issue during a meeting in New Delhi on Tuesday.
Rahul Gandhi held a marathon meeting with MLAs and members of the newly formed coordination committee where the organizational issues, as well as the performance of the Hemant Soren-led coalition government, was discussed.
“Some MLAs informed Rahul Gandhi about a vacant cabinet berth which should be given to the Congress. To this Rahul Gandhi said that he is not supposed to interfere in this issue and said that Venugopal may talk to the chief minister,” said a source who was in the meeting.
To revamp the party organization, Rahul Gandhi directed state president Rajesh Thakur to organize three-day Chintan Shivir scheduled on 17, 18, and 19th of this month in Ranchi.
When MLAs told Rahul Gandhi that RPN Singh prevented them from meeting him, he admitted and said that from onward he would be available for party workers. He asked MLAs and leaders to consolidate the party organization in Jharkhand and said that senior leaders and workers should interact with each other.
Jamtara MLA Irfan Ansari said that for the Rajya Sabha seat in Jharkhand, the central leadership should consider the candidature of his father Furkan Ansari. Irfan said that the central leadership had promised him the Rajya Sabha berth since he had quit his claim on the Godda seat during the parliamentary election to accommodate the JVM.
Barkagaon MLA Amba Prasad on the other hand raised the issue of criminal cases against her parents which, she said, the state government was not withdrawing despite the fact that these are politically motivated.
However, MLAs expressed their satisfaction over the overall performance of the Hemant Soren government.
