RS approves proclamation of Prez rule in Jharkhand

The Rajya Sabha on Tuesday approved the proclamation of President's Rule in Jharkhand where former Chief Minister Arjun Munda had resigned after his government was reduced to a minority last month.

Jharkhand was brought under President's Rule for the third time since its formation 12 years ago on January 18 after the Jharkhan Mukti Morcha withdrew support from the Bharatiya Janata Party-led government  there.

The house approved the proclamation of President's Rule with voice vote after a debate on the issue.

Replying to the debate, Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde refuted suggestions that the Central Government had made any attempt to destabilise the state government.

"Something else other than administration was happening there....We do not have such a mindset. Did we go to the JMM to ask them to withdraw its support to pull the government?" he said.

The home minister said it was ‘difficult’ to run coalition governments and cited the example of the United Progressive Alliance-II government being run by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

"You should have will power to run a coalition government .... we do not want small states to suffer because of these things," he said.

The home minister said the gap between the last two occasions when President's Rule was imposed in the state was around three months and if the BJP wants, it can again stake claim to form a government.

He said Governor Syed Ahmed had tried for three days to resolve the crisis in the state before recommending the imposition of President's Rule in the state.

During the debate, Jaiprakash Narayan Singh (BJP) accused the Congress and the Rashtriya Janata Dal of supporting the government of Madhu Koda and held the parties responsible for alleged Rs 6,000 crore loot in the state.

He demanded that the Centre should immediately accept the recommendation made by the Arjun Munda to dissolve the assembly and hold fresh elections there.

Pradeep Balmuchu (Congress) said the BJP had been ruling the state for 10 years after it was formed in 2000 and held it responsible for the mismanagement and corruption there.

Bhupender Yadav (BJP) objected to invoking Article 356 against the Jharkhand government saying that such a step should not be taken with a political motive.

"Invoking Article 356 (of the Constitution) is not good and should not be taken with political purpose. For last two and half months, coalition government was in rule and unfortunately the Centre did not give full support. Rather, it tried to bring down the state government," he said.

It is for the third time that the President rule is being imposed in the state and most of the political parties are against such a move because it would lead to discontinuation of current development schemes, thus impacting people.

Insisting that the state needs permanent solution to the problem, Yadav sought fresh elections with new mandate to boost growth in the state. Blaming the National Democratic Alliance rule for instability in Jharkhand, Dhiraj Prasad Sahu (Cong) said, "Since inception of the state, the NDA has been ruling. Whatever is the situation in the state, NDA has been responsible. Congress has not been anchoring power there."  

Sahu said no developmental work happened during the NDA period in the state. Rather, there were instances of industries involved in illegal mining.

"If enquiry is conducted today, many of their ministers would be found involved in scams and corruptions," he claimed. Sahu said the mineral-rich state should be protected by restoring a stable government.

Expressing concern over increased migration of tribals in the state, Sanjeev Kumar (JMM) said the Centre should attempt to put in place a democratically-elected government.

The people in the state are displaced and are not fully compensated after their land is acquired, he said. Attributing the poor plight of the state to the BJP-led government, Ram Kripal Yadav (RJD) said timely elections should be held to restore a democratic government.

Jharkhand was carved out of Bihar in 2001 with an aim to give better life to tribal population. But no party has been able to form a stable government and achieve this objective.

"The BJP-led government was in power for the maximum period and the objectives were not met. If anything has happened in the state, it is loot....It is a fact, several scandals have happened. If inquiry is conducted, all chief ministers will be imprisoned," he claimed.

D Bandyopadhyay (All India Trinamool Congress) appealed for restoration of democracy in the state as early as possible.