No to board and corporation post boys: Ajay Maken

Maken asks Balmuchu to submit list of candidates for board posts

Vijay Deo Jha Ranchi, Tuesday, September 30, 2008

Even though the State Congress finalised the lists of party MLAs to take rein of boards and corporations in Jharkhand, the latest directives of Ajay Maken, in-charge State Congress, directing Pradeep Balmuchu, president Jharkhand Congress, to submit the list to him, has cast damper on their aspiration.

The list prepared by the trilogy of Balmuchu, leader to party legislative in Assembly, Manoj Yadav and Saurabh Narayan Singh, MLA Hazaribagh, did not contain the name of any party worker even though it staked claim over 15 boards and corporations.

The list stoked suspicion and consternation among party workers. A senior party functionary who spoke on the condition of anonymity told this correspondent that some of the party MLAs were in haste for their share first as they felt they should initially secure whatever plum boards and corporations they were able to get.

As per available information, Maken is learnt to have asked Balmuchu not to recommend or finalize the list without his prior scrutiny and approval. A decision on this account would be taken only after October 15 and the state unit of the party could be supplied with a composite list regarding the names of MLAs and workers for the same.

The party sources said the two apparent reasons scuttled the move of party MLAs who even threatened to put the JMM government in lather during the Monsoon Session of the State Assembly if their demand of boards and corporations were not fulfilled within a given time period, September 27. This includes Balmuchu, Niel Tirkey; MLA Simdega who publicly vent out their ire towards the delay.

First, a majority of senior party workers, whose claim over reasonable share in the allocation of boards and corporations were ignored communicated their displeasure to Maken, a day after the last session of assembly. The party workers like Sasikantkant Tirkey, Jagdish Sahu, Kanta Upadhaya, Ajay Rai, Ravindra Singh etc. are stated to be some of the vocal exponents of this demand- equally supported by a vast diaspora of the party workers. Even some senior party leaders and MPs, with whom Maken discussed the issue, are learnt to have found their claim true.

If not all the party MLAs but even a few among them including Sukhdeo Bhagat, MLA Lohardaga, did not mince the word in saying the boards and corporations should go to dedicated bands of party workers belonging to constituencies where Congress has become politically an extinct entity. Some month back, while writing for 'Congress Sandesh' the official magazine of the Congress, Sukhdeo said expressed his above stated feelings.

Not willing to speak much about the broil Sukhdeo said that in case the state Congress gets boards and corporations as per agreement reached between the Chief Minister Shibu Soren and Maken last month, he would prefer to the workers- those who have invested their time and energy for the party.

The sources said that some party MLAs were reported to be unhappy over the list prepared by the trilogy in which they were allocated defunct and insignificant boards and corporation while ignoring their seniority.

As par available information the name of Balmuchu was recommended for TVNL along with his close aide Niel Tirkey, for Adityapur Industrial Development Authority. The list figures the name of Manoj Yadav for Marketing Board while Saurabh Narayan Singh was recommended for Mines Area Development Authority. Israel Ansari, MLA, Bokaro, who had set his eyes on Bokaro Industrial Development Authority, got a favorable recommendation.