Shamshabad: In preparation for the floor test of the Champai Soren led coalition government in Jharkhand, which is scheduled for Monday legislators from the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) and Congress parties have arrived at Shamshabad airport. They have relocated from their residence in Hyderabad.
The Soren government is planning to seek a vote of confidence on February 5 at the Jharkhand Legislative Assembly. This comes three days after Champai Soren took office as Chief Minister. The Jharkhand Mukti Morcha holds 29 seats while its ally Congress has 17 seats. The RJD and CPI (ML) together contribute 1 seat in the 81 member Jharkhand Assembly. With a combined strength of 43 MLAs the INDIA bloc seems positioned to navigate through the upcoming floor test successfully.
In addition Congress leader Pranav Jha made allegations on Sunday claiming that the BJP has been consistently trying to destabilize their party in Jharkhand. "The Chief Minister has been given voting rights. We have than enough numbers to secure a majority. Our presence here is a measure against BJPs persistent attempts to disrupt our unity. There are threats from enforcement agencies, like ED, CBI and IT; it appears they are making efforts to disturb every opposition state " Pranav Jha informed reporters in Hyderabad.
The Jharkhand governments floor test is scheduled to take place in the Assembly on Monday. This strategic move is seen as an attempt by the ruling coalition to strengthen their position and counter any attempts by the opposition party, BJP to lure away their members. The Assembly session will begin on February 5. Last for two days.
Earlier former Chief Minister Hemant Soren approached the Supreme Court to challenge his arrest. However the apex court refused to consider his plea and directed him to approach the high court instead. Soren was arrested by the Directorate of Enforcement (ED) on Wednesday night after being questioned for six hours in connection, with a money laundering case related to a land scam. The investigation focuses on illegal funds generated through the manipulation of official records involving fraudulent sellers and buyers who used fake or forged documents to acquire valuable plots of land worth crores of rupees.
—Input from Agencies