Jharkhand as a Window to our Democracy!!!
The BJP, or for that matter parties across the spectrum, do not seem to have any sense of shame. If there was any, there was no way Arjun Munda will become Chief Minister of Jharkhand. The BJP has cobbled up a majority with the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM), the Janata Dal (United), All Jharkhand Students’ Union and a couple of independent MLAs, adding up to 45 in the assembly with an effective strength of 81.
Well. The Governor, M.O.H.Farooq, was left with no option than to invite Munda as Chief Minister. It is another matter that the ruling side will consist of such manipulators as Shibhu Soren; and Madhu Koda will continue to remain a MLA and with more than Rs. 6000 Crores (as held by the CBI sometimes ago), he will be able to render this arrangement unstable if he wants. Governor Farooq, however, could not have thought so much ahead and refused an invite to Munda.
Now. Why did I invoke the sense of shame here in the beginning. I did so because the BJP, as recently as a few months ago, called off its relationship with Shibhu Soren and his JMM, pulling down the Government. It happened in May 2010. The BJP did that because Soren’s party, even while running the government in Ranchi with the BJP, voted in support of the Manmohan Singh Government in Parliament. And stung by a sense of morality (or whatever else), the BJP declared that it shall not sup with Soren. After having tried bargaining with the Congress, Soren quit as Chief Minister on May 30, 2010.
The Congress did try help Soren in a lot of ways. That game began sometimes when Manmohan Singh was in trouble over the 123 deal with the US. After the Left parties withdrew support and Singh was asked to establish his majority in the Lok Sabha, Soren was approached, indulged and even made Chief Minister of Jharkhand by the Congress party. As part of that deal, the Congress ditched Madhu Koda, got him to resign as Chief Minister and set up the CBI to find out what was known to any perceptible Indian then: That Koda had amassed several thousand crores while being Chief Minister of Jharkhand. For those unaware, Koda was an independent MLA who remained Chief Minister of Jharkhand thanks to the Congress party’s support.
Soren seemed to enjoy all that the CBI did to Koda (and also the fact that the CBI stopped troubling him) but the fun ended when Koda managed to ensure Soren’s defeat in an assembly by-election. The winner was Koda’s protégé and an independent. If anyone doubted the power of wealth in our democracy, here was an instance where Koda’s wealth was good enough (or bad enough) to defeat Soren in his own backyard. Soren wanted his son as Chief Minister, the Congress prevaricated and the BJP stepped in. But Soren played foul again and his stint at the Chief Minister’s office ended thus on May 30, 2010.
The BJP has found it fit to engage with him again and party chief, Nitin Gadkari pulled all the stops to clear the path for Arjun Munda become the Chief Minister again much against the claims from Raghuvar Das, another powerful leader from the BJP. Reports add that Gadkari pulled the stops, this time, from Moscow! The BJP chief may have gone to Moscow for reasons best know to him and others in the party. But then, we also know that Moscow, in the past couple of decades, is known to have turned into a hub for the Mafiosi of all kinds.
I am inclined to wonder as to whether there could be a link between Ranchi and Moscow. For, we now come across reports, day after day, of how the mines and the minerals in Jharkhand, Chattisgarh and parts of Orissa, Madhya Pradesh and West Bengal are being plundered by fly-by-night operators and fictitious mine contractors. It is only common sense that Koda’s riches (to the tune of thousands of crores) was brought about by way of facilitating this loot and plunder. It is also common knowledge that the Moscow based Mafiosi is known to be plundering wealth from many parts of the world.
The point is that a short stint in power in Jharkhand will guarantee access to resources in multiples of hundreds of crores and the BJP is already known to have displayed its willingness to have in its midst such men. Think of the Reddy brothers in Karnataka who have the clout to defy even the Chief Minister B.S.Yediyurappa. They have a strong supporter in the BJP’s top rung: None other than Sushma Swaraj. I will wonder as to whether Gadkari’s efforts, to pull the stops, in Arjun Minda’s favour is to counter Sushma Swaraj.
Well. The people of Jharkhand, despite their long and glorious history of struggle for a separate State, seemed to have been condemned to suffer. And the potential for making tonnes of money by way of looting the mines and the minerals in the region is what makes both the ``national’’ parties push, whatever is known as shame, under the carpet. It is difficult to call this democratic and pride ourselves in that name.
The BJP, or for that matter parties across the spectrum, do not seem to have any sense of shame. If there was any, there was no way Arjun Munda will become Chief Minister of Jharkhand. The BJP has cobbled up a majority with the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM), the Janata Dal (United), All Jharkhand Students’ Union and a couple of independent MLAs, adding up to 45 in the assembly with an effective strength of 81.
Well. The Governor, M.O.H.Farooq, was left with no option than to invite Munda as Chief Minister. It is another matter that the ruling side will consist of such manipulators as Shibhu Soren; and Madhu Koda will continue to remain a MLA and with more than Rs. 6000 Crores (as held by the CBI sometimes ago), he will be able to render this arrangement unstable if he wants. Governor Farooq, however, could not have thought so much ahead and refused an invite to Munda.
Now. Why did I invoke the sense of shame here in the beginning. I did so because the BJP, as recently as a few months ago, called off its relationship with Shibhu Soren and his JMM, pulling down the Government. It happened in May 2010. The BJP did that because Soren’s party, even while running the government in Ranchi with the BJP, voted in support of the Manmohan Singh Government in Parliament. And stung by a sense of morality (or whatever else), the BJP declared that it shall not sup with Soren. After having tried bargaining with the Congress, Soren quit as Chief Minister on May 30, 2010.
The Congress did try help Soren in a lot of ways. That game began sometimes when Manmohan Singh was in trouble over the 123 deal with the US. After the Left parties withdrew support and Singh was asked to establish his majority in the Lok Sabha, Soren was approached, indulged and even made Chief Minister of Jharkhand by the Congress party. As part of that deal, the Congress ditched Madhu Koda, got him to resign as Chief Minister and set up the CBI to find out what was known to any perceptible Indian then: That Koda had amassed several thousand crores while being Chief Minister of Jharkhand. For those unaware, Koda was an independent MLA who remained Chief Minister of Jharkhand thanks to the Congress party’s support.
Soren seemed to enjoy all that the CBI did to Koda (and also the fact that the CBI stopped troubling him) but the fun ended when Koda managed to ensure Soren’s defeat in an assembly by-election. The winner was Koda’s protégé and an independent. If anyone doubted the power of wealth in our democracy, here was an instance where Koda’s wealth was good enough (or bad enough) to defeat Soren in his own backyard. Soren wanted his son as Chief Minister, the Congress prevaricated and the BJP stepped in. But Soren played foul again and his stint at the Chief Minister’s office ended thus on May 30, 2010.
The BJP has found it fit to engage with him again and party chief, Nitin Gadkari pulled all the stops to clear the path for Arjun Munda become the Chief Minister again much against the claims from Raghuvar Das, another powerful leader from the BJP. Reports add that Gadkari pulled the stops, this time, from Moscow! The BJP chief may have gone to Moscow for reasons best know to him and others in the party. But then, we also know that Moscow, in the past couple of decades, is known to have turned into a hub for the Mafiosi of all kinds.
I am inclined to wonder as to whether there could be a link between Ranchi and Moscow. For, we now come across reports, day after day, of how the mines and the minerals in Jharkhand, Chattisgarh and parts of Orissa, Madhya Pradesh and West Bengal are being plundered by fly-by-night operators and fictitious mine contractors. It is only common sense that Koda’s riches (to the tune of thousands of crores) was brought about by way of facilitating this loot and plunder. It is also common knowledge that the Moscow based Mafiosi is known to be plundering wealth from many parts of the world.
The point is that a short stint in power in Jharkhand will guarantee access to resources in multiples of hundreds of crores and the BJP is already known to have displayed its willingness to have in its midst such men. Think of the Reddy brothers in Karnataka who have the clout to defy even the Chief Minister B.S.Yediyurappa. They have a strong supporter in the BJP’s top rung: None other than Sushma Swaraj. I will wonder as to whether Gadkari’s efforts, to pull the stops, in Arjun Minda’s favour is to counter Sushma Swaraj.
Well. The people of Jharkhand, despite their long and glorious history of struggle for a separate State, seemed to have been condemned to suffer. And the potential for making tonnes of money by way of looting the mines and the minerals in the region is what makes both the ``national’’ parties push, whatever is known as shame, under the carpet. It is difficult to call this democratic and pride ourselves in that name.
posted by Krishna Ananth at
3:38 AM
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