New Delhi: Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren, who is stationed in the national capital reportedly to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the high command of the Congress party, on Thursday denied reports of a possible expansion of the state cabinet. Speaking to ETV Bharat, Soren said, "I don't know from where such news arises. It is just a rumour in the media and it is baseless. As of now, we are chanelling all our energies towards the development of the state."
The Jharkhand government is an alliance between the Congress, the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) and the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD). The 12-member-stong cabinet currently has only 11 ministers while a ministerial berth is still vacant. There are speculations that the Congress, which holds four ministerial berths, wants to replace two of its ministers with new faces and also wants the vacant seat in its kitty. On the other hand, Soren is believed to have demanded the vacant seat for his JMM. The chief minister's visit to New Delhi has set speculations that he is to meet the Congress high command and finalise the deal. However, as per reports, the meeting between Soren and the Gandhis has not materialised as yet. Soren, for his part, maintained that he was on a personal visit to the national capital.
When asked why BJP leader Babulal Marandi was still not given the status of the Leader of Opposition (LoP), even as the Monsoon session of the state assembly is around the corner, Soren said the government has no role to play in it and it is up to the Opposition BJP to set things right in this regard. The LoP post is lying idle for more than a year. BJP MLAs had on February 24 last year unanimously elected Marandi as their Legislature Party leader after he merged his Jharkhand Vikas Party (Prajatantrik-JVM-P) with the saffron party. A BJP legislature party delegation had also given a letter to the office of the Speaker in Marandi's favour. However, the Jharkhand Assembly Speaker withheld his position stating that the merger was technically unsound. Two of the three MLAs from Marandi's Jharkhand Vikas Party had revolted against the merger.
