Jharkhand government in crisis as four ministers resign

Chief Minister Munda is left gasping for breath.

NEW DELHI: Jharkhand is going the Goa way, albeit only politically.

The BJP led Arjun Munda led government survived on Tuesday but its longevity is being questioned. The Congress leadership is making all efforts to topple the Munda government and ironically is trying to install an independent legislator, Madhu Koda as the state chief minister. The BJP is trying desperately to checkmate the Congress strategy.

The stage for bringing down the Munda government was set on Tuesday morning when four state ministers, all Independents, faxed their resignation to the Governor Syed Sibte Razi. The ruling BJP-JD(U) combine is all set to retaliate by disqualifying one or two of the rebel ministers, from their membership and thus effectively bringing down strength of the Assembly to 79, exactly a repeat of the ugly political developments that took place in Goa two years ago.

It was ironically the UPA, which is now pitching support of these MLAs, had petitioned for disqualification of the two Independents turned ministers Enos Eka and Kamlesh Singh, in 2005, on the plea that they violated their respective party whips to join BJP led government. The BJP's core committee, comprising of all its senior leaders met in the evening to formulate a strategy to save the government.

The Assembly Speaker Inder Singh Namdhari is sitting over these petitions and is expected to pronounce his verdict on Wednesday. The UPA is bringing all its MLAs to Delhi by a special flight and elect Koda as its leader in the Capital. They will return to Ranchi only when all arrangements to bring down Munda government are in place. However, there was no unanimity of opinion in the UPA that an Independent, that too a first timer in the Assembly be named as their leader to form an alternate government.

JMM chief and coal minister Shibu Soren who made an unsuccessful bid to chief minister's post, last year is not reconciled to the idea of pledging support to an Independent. But railway minister Lalu Prasad Yadav and the Congress leadership appear to be too keen to topple a BJP led government.

The longevity of an alternate UPA government, which is filled with so many contradictions even before it could begin, is already being talked in political circles. A UPA source said the idea was to run an alternate government for next two-three months or a bit longer and impose President Rule thereafter. Chief Minister Arjun Munda, however, remained unfazed. He said "I will prove my majority on the floor of the House."