CM Hemant Soren meets Jharkhand Guv, urges him to clear air on EC's stance

Amid the political suspense in Jharkhand prevailing for the last three weeks, Chief Minister Hemant Soren met Governor Ramesh Bais on Thursday afternoon and urged him to clear the confusion over his continuation as an MLA in an office of profit case.

He told the Governor that there is an atmosphere of uncertainty in the state. In such a situation, being the constitutional head of the state, he should take appropriate steps to protect democracy and the constitution. The Chief Minister's meeting with the Governor lasted for about 40 minutes.

In a letter submitted to the Governor, Soren has said that unusual, unexpected and unfortunate circumstances have been prevailing in the state for the last three weeks. "An atmosphere is being created by the Bharatiya Janata Party that I will be disqualified from the membership of the assembly for taking a mining lease," he said.

Referring to the earlier judgments of the Supreme Court, Soren said that taking a mining lease does not constitute a case of disqualification under Section 9A of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, but despite this, the Election Commission has heard the complaint against him.

"Since last August 25 news is going on in the media quoting the leaders of the BJP and the alleged sources of Raj Bhavan that I have been disqualified from the membership of the Legislative Assembly," he said.

"The confusion prevailing in this regard is not in the interest of the state and in the public interest. Using this atmosphere, the BJP is trying to unethically grab the power by defecting our MLAs," the Chief Minister claimed.

The Chief Minister has said that this immoral attempt of the BJP will never succeed as his government has the support of nearly two-thirds of the members in the Assembly.

On September 5, Chief Minister Soren-led government proved its overwhelming majority on the floor of the assembly. The MLAs have expressed full loyalty and confidence to his leadership.

Chief Minister Soren has told the Governor that as the constitutional head of the state, he is expected to play an important role in protecting the Constitution and democracy. He has urged that the matter should be heard expeditiously to clear the atmosphere of uncertainty which is dangerous for a healthy democracy.

Earlier on September 1, the UPA delegation had met the Governor and submitted an application to him, seeking to clear the confusion in this matter. However, the stance in this matter is not clear yet.

--IANS

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