Jharkhand Governor to answer President's summons

March 04, 2005

Jharkhand's Governor Syed Sibte Razi, the man at the centre of a huge political controversy, will meet President Kalam today.

He will explain his decision to let JMM chief Shibu Soren form the government when the NDA seemed to have the numbers in its favour.

Yesterday, the NDA paraded 36 of its MLAs and five independent MLAS before the President, in a show of strength intended to show that the NDA had the support of the majority in the 81-member house.

One option before the President is to ask the Governor to make Soren prove his strength within a week and not 20 days, as is the case at the moment.

And while it is now advantage NDA, the final resolution to the Jharkhand controversy could well be on the floor of the house.

Sonia Gandhi and other UPA leaders will also be meeting today to discuss the political crisis in Jharkhand.

Meanwhile, the BJP masterstroke of completing the 41 MLA lineups in front of the President is being seen as a carefully coordinated plan.

Five independent MLAs were spirited from Ranchi to Asansol in West Bengal. They were then told to change their route to travel through NDA ally BJD-ruled Orissa.

From Bhubhaneshwar, they were then flown into the Capital yesterday.

Their long journey will now take them to Jaipur, as the NDA tries to keep its majority intact.

One such MLA is Enos Ekka, who till yesterday was not known to many. But thanks to the hung assembly in the state, he has suddenly gained popularity.

Both the UPA and the NDA said that he was their supporter when they claimed a stake to form the government.

"I always said that I was supporting the NDA. I never promised the Congress any support," said Enos Ekka, Jharkhand Party MLA.

But when he was brought to Delhi by the NDA on Thursday, Soren alleges that he was kidnapped.

"His wife is worried, we are all waiting for him to return," he said.

Tribal leader Ne Horo, who is at the helm of the Jharkhand Party, of which Ekka is a member, also wrote to the Governor complaining that the MLA was missing in action.

"We had put him forward as a UPA supporter," said Ne Horo, President, Jharkhand Party.