In a meeting with Jharkhand Governor Ramesh Bais on Thursday, 1 September, a delegation of United Progressive Alliance (UPA) MLAs expressed its shock over "selective leaks" on Chief Minister Hemant Soren's disqualification as a legislator.
The MLAs further added that such "leaks created chaos, confusion and uncertainty."
Amid a political crisis in the state, Jharkhand Cabinet has approved the proposal for one-day special Assembly session on 5 September.
The UPA delegation also sought clarity from the governor over the Election Commission's ruling on the matter, adding that speculations on Soren's fate has encouraged the destabilisation of a democratically elected government.
They further stated that the CM's disqualification as MLA will not affect the government, as the ruling JMM-Congress-RJD coalition enjoys an absolute majority in the assembly.
The ruling coalition, constituting the JMM, Congress, and the RJD, has 49 MLAs in the 81-member state Assembly.
This comes a day after 41 UPA legislators landed in Raipur in the neighbouring state of Chhattisgarh, where they were put up in a resort amid fears of horse-trading.
When asked about what brings them to Raipur, Jharkhand MLA Deepika Pandey said that the questions should be asked to BJP, Home Minister, and Prime Minister on what transpired that forced us to come and assemble here.
She further added that we are her to secure our majority government.
The crisis in the state started following a petition by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), seeking Soren's disqualification from the Assembly in an office of profit case, the EC conveyed its decision to state Governor Ramesh Bais on 25 August. The decision, however, has not yet been made official.
'CM Not Resigning'
Meanwhile, Congress Working President Bandhu Tirkey dismissing rumours about Chief Minister Soren's resignation, said that nothing of that sort was happening.
"CM is not resigning. Governor seeking legal opinion and has assured that the situation will be made clear within 2 days. We also questioned how selective information is being leaked to media, he also assured that the source is not in his office," he said, according to news agency ANI.
On Tuesday, 30 September, UPA MLAs had met behind a closed doors meeting at CM Soren's residence to discuss the political scenario in the state, as the Raj Bhavan continues to maintain silence over the Election Commission's recommendation that Soren be disqualified as an MLA.
(With inputs from PTI and ANI.)
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