Jharkhand political crisis: CM Soren, ruling MLAs leave for unknown destination on buses

Ranchi (Jharkhand), August 27: Buses carrying Jharkhand MLAs were seen leaving the Ranchi residence of Chief Minister Hemant Soren on Saturday afternoon, amid concerns about his likely disqualification as a state assembly MLA for allegedly breaking poll norms by extending himself a mining lease. On Saturday, two Volvo buses carrying JMM-led ruling alliance MLAs were spotted leaving the Jharkhand chief minister's residence. Meanwhile, the Jharkhand Congress Legislative Party is holding a meeting this evening, presided over by Incharge Avinash Pande. The ruling alliance contains 30 JMM MLAs, 18 Congress MLAs, and one Rashtriya Janata Dal MLA in the 81-member Jharkhand Assembly (RJD). Soren had summoned the third meeting of the state's ruling UPA coalition members in two days. Several MLAs were observed arriving for the meeting with luggage earlier in the day. There is speculation that the MLAs would be moved to the Congress-ruled state of Chhattisgarh. Prior to the meeting at Soren's house, Congress Jharkhand president Rajesh Thakur stated that all MLAs have been told to come prepared. "I have no information about this. MLAs are coming with luggage for the meeting because they have been asked to be ready. We will let you know if MLAs are asked to shift somewhere," Thakur stated. Also Read | Amritsar: Explosion at GNDU chemistry lab; several injured, one critical The Congress has accused the BJP of corrupting state politics. "Jharkhand's politics is different... BJP is trying to pollute politics here. If EC sends a report in a sealed envelope, it gets leaked even before it's opened. The alliance government's recent decisions will affect their (BJP) base in tribal areas," Jharkhand Congress working president Bandhu Tirkey said. BJP leader Nishikant Dubey criticised the Soren-led meeting, saying, "Even after scrambling, just 33 MLAs could gather in Ranchi." Meanwhile, Soren tweeted this morning claiming he was from the tribal community and was unaffected by the ongoing slugfest. "This is a tribal son. Never have our ways ever been stopped by their tactics nor have we ever been afraid. Our ancestors have long removed the feeling of fear from us. There's no place of fear in the DNA of us Adivasis," Jharkhand CM said on Twitter. Also Read | Neeraj Chopra wins Lausanne Diamond League Meet title with 89.08m throw -PTC News