Soren sworn in as Jharkhand CM: BJP protests

NEW DELHI, Mar 2 (UNI) Jharkhand Mukti Morcha leader Shibu Soren was today sworn in as Jharkhand Chief Minister at the head of a seven-member UPA Ministry, as the Congress announced its support tothe RJD in forming the next government in Bihar.

JMM (rebel) Vice-President Stephen Marandi, who got elected as an Independent candidate, was sworn in as the Deputy Chief Minister.

The BJP-led NDA strongly protested the developments, calling them "as a murder of democracy".

The government business in Parliament was stalled, leading to the adjournment of the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha for the day.

An NDA delegation led by former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee met the President and submitted a four-page memorandum which said, "we have come to you to seek redressal in the form of your urgent personal intervention in a matter of brazen assault on democracy in Jharkhand committed by none other than Governor Syed Sibtey Razi." Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha and BJP President L K Advani, addressing a press conference here, said the Jharkhand Governor Syed Sibte Razi's invitation to Jharkhand Mukti Morcha leader Shibu Soren to form the government in the state, ignoring the NDA's claim of a majority in the 81-member Assembly, deserved to be reversed by 'Presidential intervention'.

In support of the demand, the NDA said Presidential intervention had earlier succeeded in reversing "the assualts mounted against the Constitution in Andhra Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh".

Advani charged the Governor with working on Congress dictates and ignoring the legitimate stake to form the Government by Arjun Munda, leader of the largest group of BJP-JD(U) having the support of 41 MLAs 36 of BJP-JD(U) and five others belonging to local parties in the 81 member Assembly.

Defending Jharkhand Governor's action in inviting UPA to form the Government in the state as "valid" and "Constitutional", the Congress claimed that the Governor had satisfied himself about the veracity of the claims about the support of MLAs made by the UPA and NDA before taking his decision.

Describing Opposition Leader L K Advani's allegation against the Jharkhand Governor as "politically motivated", Congress Spokesman Anand Sharma said the Governor was seized with claims and counter claims of the UPA and the NDA.

The BJP has called a dawn-to-dusk Jharkhand bandh tomorrow in protest against the Governor's decision to invite Soren to form the government.

Besides Soren and Marandi, the others sworn in this evening were Ms Joba Majhi, Girinath Singh, Bandhu Tirky and Annapurna Devi.

Soren has been asked to prove his majority on the floor of the House on March 21.

A Raj Bhawan communique said the Governor has appointed Soren as Chief Minister under Article 164(1) of the Constitution.

Earlier, after meeting the Governor, Soren told newspersons that he had submitted a list of 42 in the 81-member Assembly.

He was confident of proving his majority on the floor of the House.

After a two-day exercise, the Governor took the decision after meeting five Independent members, who extended support to the NDA.

Two names figured in both the lists submitted to the Governor by the rival alliances.

The NDA had submitted a list of 41-members, including five Independents yesterday.

Outgoing Chief Minister Arjun Munda was elected as leader of the new legislature party.

The NDA was the first to stake claim on Monday.

However, the Governor asked them to submit the list of members and the name of the leader.

The BJP, along with its alliance partner JD (U), has a strength of 36 members BJP-30 and JD(U)-six and claimed the support of five Independents.

Newly-elected members of the Haryana Congress Legislature Party (CLP) met in Chandigarh yesterday to choose their leader and left the choice to party chief Sonia Gandhi.

A total of 66 of the 67 newly-elected Congress MLAs attended the meeting.

Prominent among them were Haryana Pradesh Congress (HPC) chief and Chief Ministerial aspirant Bhajan Lal, HPC working president Randeep Singh Surjewala, Bhupinder Singh Hooda and Birender Singh.

Arjun Munda has termed Governor Syed Sibtey Razi's decision of inviting UPA leader Shibu Soren to form the government as "unconstitutional" and "murder of democracy".

Munda told UNI in Ranchi, "The entire country knows that the NDA has majority in the 81-member Assembly and accordingly had staked claim to form the government.

But the Governor had rejected our claim and invited Soren to form the Ministry." "We will give a proper reply at the appropriate time," he said.

"The Governor has not done justice by giving 20 days to Soren to prove his majority on the floor of the house.

It is against the mandate of the people of the state," Munda said.

Tension ran high in Jharkhand capital immediately after Soren was invited to form the next government in the state.

Shopkeepers hurriedly downed shutters as miscreants forced some to close their shops.

Stray incidents of stone pelting were reported from different areas, official sources said.

Workers of the BJP and JD(U) are continuing their dharna before the Raj Bhavan since last night.

In Bihar, while the Congress announced to support the Rashtriya Janata Dal in forming the government, Lok Janshakti Party(LJP) chief and Union Minister Ramvilas Paswan said his party would vote against the RJD if it formed the government in the state.

Paswan told newspersons in Patna that his party would vote against the RJD government in the House during vote of confidence.

Maintaining his line, Paswan said he would not change his stand even if the Congress supported the RJD in Bihar.

Harikesh Bahadur, in-charge of political affairs of Congress in Bihar and Jharkhand told UNI that the party had already sent a letter to Governor Buta Singh in this connection.

In the letter the party stated that all its ten newly elected members would support the RJD in case the party forms the government in the state.

RJD President Lalu Prasad denounced possible imposition of President's Rule in Bihar, if a popular government fails to take charge by March six.

"We are prepared to sit in the Opposition, if we fail to prove our majority on the floor of the Assembly," he told reporters in Patna.

Prasad, however, maintained that the RJD stood by its claim of forming the government as it had emerged as the single largest party in the just conducted elections to the 13th Bihar Assembly.

The RJD supremo exuded confidence of securing support of the necessary number of MLAs in the House once given a chance to form a secular government in the state.

Prasad claimed that his party had since received support from the Congress, BSP and NCP with a total strength of 15 while the support of the lone CPI(M) member was also listed.

The CPI was likely to formally announce their support to the RJD tomorrow after a state committee meeting, while some Independents were expected to throw their weight to further boost the prospect for emergence of a strong alliance of secular forces, Prasad maintained.

RJD spokesperson Sivanand Tiwari claimed that the people had rejected the NDA 'outright' and given their mandate in favour of secular parties.

"It's time for secular parties to come together burying their hatchets to keep communal forces at bay, and RJD, being the largest among the secular parties, acquires the natural right to lead such a government," he argued.