Soren govt not a puppet regime, says Jairam Ramesh

Union Minister Jairam Ramesh today dismissed the opposition allegations that the Hemant Soren government in Jharkhand was a puppet regime with the remote control being in the hands of senior Congress leaders.

'There will be no remote control of the coalition government. If at all there would be one, it would be in the hands of Chief Minister Hemant Soren,' Ramesh, Union Rural Development minister said while rejecting the opposition's allegations that the ruling coalition would be a puppet government with the remote being in the hands of senior Congress leaders.

'Congress is here to cooperate and assist the government and assures full support all the time,' Ramesh said.

On a lighter vein, he hoped the chief minister could press the fast forward button when necessary and never touch the stop or rewind buttons of the remote.

Ramesh said it was the first time that a written Common Minimum Programme (CMP) of a ruling coalition was being published in the state which had witnessed nine governments in 13-years since Jharkhand's creation.

'We are committed to giving responsible and accountable governance and the Hemant Soren-led government came up with the CMP for that purpose,' he said and added the government's goal was to fulfill the people's aspirations.

Reacting to a recent remark made in the state assembly by Leader of Opposition Arjun Munda, Ramesh said Congress was a party which 'donates and never sucks blood.