Cong’s message to Bandhu, Bhanu: Mind your language

Ranchi, Tuesday, July 7, 2009

Vijay Deo Jha

The Congress sent an advice to the independent MLAs, Bandhu Tirkey and Bhanu Pratap Sahi, to mind their language against the party and Union Minister of Food and Processing, Subodhkant Sahai after the Government formation exercise in Jharkhand was aborted.

The Congress took the step a day after the two MLAs, pilloried Sahai for scuttling Government formation of the UPA in Jharkhand। Blaming Sahai for this, both of them said that the extension of the President’s Rule in Jharkhand was a cruel joke on Jharkhand.

“For a month, the Congress fooled us in the name of Government formation exercise. This party and its leaders had no intention to allow the installation of a popular Government,” Tirkey said.

The State Congress secretary Anadi Brahma on the other hand advised Tirkey and Sahi to refrain from such baseless allegations। “Such decisions regarding Government formation are taken by the central high command of the party after assessing the ground reality and Sahai has no role in it,” Brahma said.

The party reminded them that they remained Ministers in two successive UPA Governments and “they should not weaken the UPA combine in Jharkhand by leveling such allegations,” he said.

With this the honeymoon period of Jharkhand UPA is over but the acrimonious war of words has just begun। It is after the central leadership of the Congress put cold water over the wishes of the State UPA leaders to form Government।

The JMM has now understood the futility of such exercises after a long time। The party chief Shibu Soren wisely opted to revamp the party organization de novo; to face the electorates in the Assembly elections rather than bending further before the Congress.

But the party leaders did not hide their grudge against the Congress for creating political confusion। “Majority is on our side. But there is no hope of the Government formation, and, I admit it on record. But in the coming days the Congress will be the biggest loser. If they had no intention to form government they should have told it,” the JMM leader and former Agriculture Minister Nalin said.

The sources in the Congress said that government formation was fraught with the latent risk of further BJP backlash। “You are going to provide your enemy (BJP) a stick to beat you in the coming days। If the electorates messed the UPA in the elections in Jharkhand it means that the combine failed to deliver good governance in Jharkhand,” a senior party leader said.

The central leadership found no merit behind the logic of the State MLA that there was yet a scope left for the Congress to gain the confidence of the electorate।

Only once Sahai had told them “aise log jo Sarkar banana chahte hai unko mera door se pranam,” (Those who want to form Government, I salute them from a distance)। His words sardonically ring true today.