JMM slams Cong, says ready for elections

Accusing the Congress of "cheating" the people by not honouring their mandate given for five years, the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha today said it was "enthusiastically ready" for the elections.
"The Congress has cheated the people's aspirations. We had appealed to it to form the government (with JMM support) as the people gave us mandate for five years," JMM general secretary Suprio Bhattacharya said reacting to reports that the Union Home Ministry is preparing a note to recommend the Cabinet to approve dissolution of the 82-member Jharkhand Assembly.
"We are enthusiastic and ready to face the electorate and the party will go to the polls with the issues pertaining to the people," he said.

Rejecting the JMM's allegations, Jharkhand Pradesh Congress Committee president Pradeep Kumar Balmachu said government could not be formed in Jharkhand because consensus could not be reached on any issue.
Constitutional steps, he added, were inevitable under the circumstances when no political party claimed to form the government.
The JMM leadership has approached the Congress leadership several times and been to Delhi to request it for formation of government.

When contacted, a senior state government official said there was no fresh recommendation to the Centre from the Raj Bhavan for dissolution of the House and the Home ministry's initiative was based on the January 14 recommendation for imposition of Presidential rule.

"The decision (by Home ministry) must have been taken as no group or party has come forward to form a government while the current spell of Presidential rule would end on July 18," he told PTI.
The BJP, JDU, Ajsu, Jharkhand Vikas Morcha (JVM-Prajatantric) and the RJD leaders were unanimous in welcoming the decision and demanded polls before the President's rule ended.
The erstwhile Arjun Munda cabinet comprising BJP/JDU/Ajsu had on January 8 recommended dissolution of the House in the wake of another ally, the JMM, withdrawing support to the over two-year-old government.
Governor Syed Ahmed had recommended imposition of President's rule with the assembly being kept under suspended animation.