Ranchi: In desperate bid to remain in power in Jharkhand, Shibu Soren on Thursday wrote a letter to senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader LK Advani to saying that the party was free to chose a leader of its choice as the next chief minister of the state.
The Jharkhand Mukti Morcha supremo and state Chief Minister wrote the letter even as BJP MLAs were scheduled to meet Jharkhand Governor MOH Farook in Ranchi on Thursday at 1900 hrs IST to withdraw support to the Jharkhand government. However, after the letter written by Soren reached Advani, BJP MLAs were asked to postpone their meeting with the Governor. Top party leaders are meeting at Advani's residence after the latest development.
Earlier, BJP MLAs were to meet the Governor at 1100 hrs IST but as one of its MLAs, Baijnath Ram, could not reach , so the party decided to give the letter withdrawing its support to the Soren government in the evening.
Soren had also written letters to Advani, BJP MP and Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Sushma Swaraj and BJP President Nitin Gadkari regretting that he had voted against the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance's cut motion in Parliament.
Soren claimed in the letter that he voted against the cut motion as he had been "been unwell for sometime". "It was due to my ill-health that I voted against the cut motion," he wrote in the letter.
He also asked the BJP to reconsider its decision to withdraw support.
However, the BJP has maintained that the party was in no mood to accept any kind of apology and wished to withdraw its support to the JMM-led government after top party leaders met at Sushma's residence earlier on Thursday.
"We have been opposing the policies of Congress on price rise. Yesterday (Wednesday) we were told to submit our resignation and all the four ministers were told to resign. We will seek time from Governor and submit our resignation. One of our leaders is in Delhi and the central board will take the final decision. Our stand is very clear that we want to withdraw our support from this government. What Hemant Soren (Shibu Soren's son) has said has been informed to central leadership. They will take a call on it," said BJP Jharkhand unit President and Deputy Chief Minister Raghuvar Das.
Soren's son Hemant had on Wednesday proposed a change in leadership in Jharkhand after the BJP withdrew support to the JMM government.
"We reject all the accusations against us. The Chief Minister is willing to resign from his post for this. We want the BJP to reconsider its decision of withdrawing support," said Hemant Soren.
Meanwhile, Jharkhand Assembly Speaker CP Singh lamented that the state is yet to see any politically stable government
"It's unfortunate that it's almost 10 years since Jharkhand (state) has formed yet there is no stable government. Coalition governments are formed and as a result there isn't much attention for development. People are also upset, they are losing faith in politics. Guruji (Shibu Soren) should have thought much before voting against the cut motion. As a legislator, I feel that he should have been more careful. I can't predict on what happens next. If such coalition governments are formed the future of Jharkhand looks bleak," said Singh.
"Elections are always a burden on the people and now the prices of essential commodities are also rising. Five years is the term prescribed for elections but if it happens before that it's not ideal for the state," he added.
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