Jharkhand crisis: Hemant Soren wins trust vote, opposition BJP walks out

Ranchi, Sep 05: Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren on Monday won the trust vote in the assembly amid a walkout by the Opposition BJP. As many as 48 MLAs voted in favour of the confidence motion in the 81-member Assembly.

In the Assembly, Soren accused the BJP of indulging in horse-trading of legislators.

Lashing out at the BJP, Soren said "the manner in which obstacles are being presented before our Govt. Three of our MLAs are in Bengal. The onus of poaching (of MLAs) in Bengal lies on Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma. They don't cooperate with the Police going to those states to probe this."

"They want to create an atmosphere where 2 states are pitted against each other. They want to create an atmosphere of civil war & want to fan riots to win polls. As long as there is UPA Govt here, such plots will not survive. You will get a befitting political reply," he added.

MLAs of the ruling coalition returned to the state capital Ranchi yesterday from Chhattisgarh, where they were sequestered at a resort to prevent defections.

The ruling UPA, however, has maintained that Soren's disqualification will not affect the government, as the JMM-Congress-RJD coalition enjoys an absolute majority in the 81-member House.

As per 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.

Following a petition by the BJP seeking Soren's disqualification from the assembly in an office-of-profit case, the Election Commission (EC) communicated its decision to Governor Ramesh Bais on August 25, sparking a political crisis in the state.

Though the EC's decision has not yet been made official, there is a buzz that the poll panel recommended the CM's disqualification as an MLA.