Eight disgruntled J'khand Cong MLAs return to Ranchi with 'positive indication' from high command

Eight of the 12 disgruntled Congress MLAs, who were camping in Delhi for the past four days, demanding that new faces should be made ministers, returned to Ranchi on Wednesday and claimed they got ''positive indications'' from the high command. Chief Minister Champai Soren, who is heading a JMM-led coalition government, has inducted into his cabinet four senior Congress MLAs as ministers.

A group of Congress legislators were unhappy with that move and went to Delhi on Saturday to meet central leaders seeking their intervention.

After arriving at Ranchi's Birsa Munda Airport, the MLAs said that the Congress high command is keeping an eye on Jharkhand and will take the appropriate decisions at the appropriate time.

Jamtara MLA Irfan Ansari said he met AICC general secretary KC Venugopal on Tuesday and had a detailed discussion about the state Congress and ministers.

''Venugopal ji said that they have information about all the activities of Jharkhand and the party will take appropriate decisions...We gave a detailed report to him," Ansari said.

He said the Congress MLAs would attend the Budget session of the Jharkhand assembly beginning from February 23.

''We do not want to give any opportunity to BJP,'' he said.

Mahagama MLA Deepika Pandey Singh said they had got ''positive indications'' during their stay in Delhi.

The MLAs said that the AICC officials asked the legislators to continue their good work.

Congress MLA Rajesh Kachhap said, ''I raised the issue of the performances of the four Congress ministers in Jharkhand and informed him (Venugopal) that it was not up to the mark in the past four years.'' He said that the 12th minister in the Champai Soren cabinet should be from the Congress.

Kachhap also said that one person should not hold two posts. ''The post of Congress Legislative Party leader should be given to other members. Venugopal ji listened to our grievances and assured us of a positive action,'' he said.

Barkagaon Congress MLA Amba Prasad said, ''Party leadership has given a very positive response.'' Another MLA Kumar Jaimangal Singh claimed that the party high command has stated that there have been some flaws in the formation of the cabinet in Jharkhand.

''We have been given assurances and it will be resolved very soon because we are going to fight the Lok Sabha and upcoming elections,'' he said.

He said that their grievances are not against the government or Congress party but against the behaviour of the ministers from the Congress party.

Following the state Congress' decision, Alamgir Alam, Rameshwar Oraon, Banna Gupta and Badal Patralekh became ministers again.

Most of the disgruntled Congress MLAs objected to the inclusion of Banna Gupta, who had courted controversy recently after BJP MP Nishikant Dubey posted a video purportedly showing him engaging in an ''obscene'' phone conversation with a woman.

Gupta had termed the video ''fake and edited''.

State Congress chief Rajesh Thakur said that the issues flagged by the 12 Congress legislators are being looked into.

Eight MLAs including three from the Congress party were sworn in as ministers in the 11-member Champai Soren cabinet on February 16. Senior JMM leader Champai Soren was sworn in as the Chief Minister after his predecessor Hemant Soren was arrested by the ED on January 31, shortly after he resigned as the chief minister.

Champai Soren won the trust vote garnering the support of 47 MLAs in the 81-member assembly.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)