'Oppn to fall in its own trap, MLAs return to Ranchi for trust vote', says Soren

|HT|

Legislators of the ruling coalition in Jharkhand are on their way back to Ranchi from Chhattisgarh capital Raipur where they had holed up for the past few days amid a lingering political crisis in their state.

Jharkhand chief minister Hemant Soren, whose fate as an MLA hangs in balance amid a mining lease row, said the Opposition will be trapped in the net they have laid for the ruling camp.

Soren will seek a vote of trust during a special session of the Assembly to be held on Monday.

According to a letter sent to the MLAs by the Assembly secretariat, the chief minister has expressed his willingness to move a motion of confidence to prove his majority.

The Opposition BJP has also reportedly convened its legislature party’s meeting on Sunday to chalk out its strategy in the House.

The latest crisis in the eastern state arose after the Election Commission (EC) sent its decision to governor Ramesh Bais on August 25 on a petition filed by the BJP seeking Soren’s disqualification from the Assembly in an office of profit case.

Though the EC’s decision has not yet been made official, there are rumours that the poll panel has recommended the chief minister’s disqualification as an MLA.

The ruling United Progressive Alliance (UPA) has said disqualification of the CM as an MLA will not affect the government, as the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM)-Congress-RJD coalition enjoys an absolute majority in the 81-member House.

The governor paid a visit to Delhi on Friday after a number of UPA MLAs met him on September 1 on the issue, triggering further speculation.

(Except for the headline and the pictorial description, this story has not been edited by THE DEN staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)