JMM-led alliance strong, no threat to coalition govt in Jharkhand, says CM Champai Soren

NEW DELHI/RANCHI: The JMM-led alliance in Jharkhand is “strong” and there is no threat to the coalition government in the state, Chief Minister Champai Soren said on Sunday, amid reports of resentment brewing among a section of Congress legislators over the induction of four party MLAs as ministers.

Soren, who is in the national capital, made the remarks before meeting Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge.

After meeting Kharge, he told reporters that it was a courtesy meeting with the Congress president after taking charge as the chief minister.

On a section of Congress MLAs being disgruntled over the recent Cabinet formation, Soren said it was the internal matter of the Congress.

Jharkhand Congress president Rajesh Thakur, AICC general secretary in-charge of the state Ghulam Ahmad Mir and Pranav Jha, among others, were present during Soren’s meeting with Kharge.

On being asked about disgruntled Congress MLAs reaching Delhi, he had told reporters, “This is an internal matter of the Congress, they will resolve it. I have nothing to say about that. There is no conflict between the JMM and Congress, and everything is absolutely fine.”

As many as 12 MLAs of the Congress have threatened to boycott the upcoming state Assembly session from February 23 and head to Jaipur if the ministers are not replaced with new faces.

The JMM-led alliance in the state has 47 MLAs (JMM-29, Congress-17 and one RJD) in the 81-member Assembly.

Jharkhand Chief Minister Champai Soren has given the go-ahead for a caste-based survey in the state on the lines of neighbouring Bihar, a senior official said on Sunday.

The CM has directed the personnel department to prepare a draft (SoP for conducting the survey) and place it before the Cabinet for approval, he said.