Where is UPA Steering Committee in Jharkhand, leaders search answer

Vijay Deo Jha Ranchi Wednesday, December 3, 2008


After the exit of Madhu Koda and successive installation of the JMM chief, Shibu Soren as the Chief Minister of Jharkhand, the UPA Steering Committee is lying defunct with the two major questions still waiting for a suitable reply- who is the Chairperson of the committee and who actually holds the key to it.


However Koda who was forced to make way for Soren in the month of August was designated as its chairperson but no official version or notification have come so far.

After persuading Koda to step down as the Chief Minister with a promise that he would be made the chairperson of the steering committee the central UPA leaders have forgotten the promise once Soren became the Chief Minister. Sources close to Koda said that the former wanted a notification by the chief minister in this regard. Koda also wants to emulate Sonia Gandhi who also co ordinates with the cabinet ministers, sources said.

But who will issue notification in this regard, the UPA leadership seems be fudging over the issue. Accepting that the committee should have been formed by this time, the deputy Chief Minister Stephen Marandi said: "It is up to the central UPA high command or the UPA in-charge of the state who can 'probably' issue such notification." However, the UPA allies decided in their meeting to anoint Koda as the chairperson, Marandi added.

Not Koda alone even some of the (former) members of the committee are confused whether they were still the member of the committee.

Talking about this, one of the members of the committee and Congress MLA Sukhdeo Bhagat said: "We have not been informed about our locus standi in the committee. Neither any notification in this regard has been issued so far nor has any meeting of the committee been convened to take stock of the performance and the achievement of the government." Annapurna Devi, the RJD MLA expressed the same: "I do not know where steering committee is? And also I can not say that I am still its member."

It should be noted that the Congress agreed to extend support to Soren on two conditions- the government would follow the common minimum programme of the UPA and secondly the UPA steering committee would work as a supreme body to supervise the functioning and implementation of the projects by the government. "The condition is yet to be fulfilled", said a senior Congress leader.

The Rastriya Janta Dal (RJD) has demanded the steering committee must be reconstituted in the state. RJD president Gautamsagar Rana blamed that the committee has been rendered useless.

Even Soren who officiated as the chairperson before he was sworn in as the chief minister is learnt not in the mood to pass rein to Koda fearing that the latter who is still nourishing wound might use the leverage to put his government on tenterhooks

After the swearing in ceremony of Soren the UPA convened two such meetings which were marked with conspicuous absence of Koda. Now it is Soren who chairs such meetings and not Koda.

His absence became more glaring during 8th Statehood Foundation Day of Jharkhand on November 15. Although his name figured prominently as the chairperson of the UPA in the invitation card meant for the programme.

Now Koda is left to repeat the word his predecessor Soren who once fumed for not being accorded importance as the chairperson of steering committee:

"I am a blind and helpless watchman of the government without any power."