Deal, dementia and drama over power pact

VIJAY DEO JHA

RANCHI 

This ongoing spat over power rotation between coalition partners in the government—BJP and JMM — is in fact a nicely scripted drama of dementia: each accusing other critical memory loss about terms and conditions which both agreed before forming government in September 2010.

The JMM chief Shibu Soren has been asserting the BJP agreed rotation of CM’s post between alliance partners, 28 months each. Threatening BJP to pull out of the government if the BJP keeps pretending about the deal, Soren said that National President Nitin Gadkari and Chief Minister Arjun Munda were parties to it.

The BJP is piqued over Soren’s repeated poke but at this moment the party would not like to court any quarrel with him. The BJP has repeatedly punctured holes in his claim giving elaborate reasons.

“No such deal was discussed or agreed. I am not aware of what kind of deal JMM has been talking about,” state BJP president Dineshnanda Goswami said.

Another top BJP leader refreshing his memory about government formation exercise that year claimed further. According to him central BJP leadership were critical towards the JMM freshly approaching the BJP to form government after an annoyed BJP withdrew support from Soren led JMM-BJP-AJSU Party-JD (U) coalition government in May 2010 following Soren’s decision of supporting UPA government on Cut Motion.

“BJP leadership had curtly told JMM that the party will form government without any pre-condition including rotation of CM’s post. There is no doubt about it,” the leader said.

Is Soren claiming out of nothing? Or he is misrepresenting the fact? “He might be referring to one such understandings of power sharing which both the parties agreed upon when BJP and JMM first decided to form government in January 2010,” the leader said. BJP senior Raghuwar Das who was deputy CM in the Soren led government, might be aware of that winter deal. But he prefers not to speak.

Soren himself is confident but sounds bit confusing. He had told The Pioneer that the deal exists on paper signed by him and other BJP leaders. But he told the media the deal was verbal. Over the statement of his father; Deputy CM Hemant Soren had initially sought refuse behind his own poor memory saying he did not know or remember anything about power pact.

Many in the political circle and the JMM as well, would refer senior Soren as a man suffering from slight amnesia. “My leader has not forgotten anything. He has a very sharp memory. It is for the BJP leaders to remember their promise,” Soren’s close aide Vinod Pandey said.  

Does one such agreement exists or not is the central theme of the drama and both parties demand each other to press refresh button on their memory.