NDA confident of Soren's ouster

Row in house over Supreme court order on Jharkhand floor test

As 42 heavily-chaperoned Jharkhand legislators flew back to Ranchi from Jaipur, where they had been sequestered by leaders of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), it seemed on the eve of a test of strength in the Assembly, that Shibu Soren would be the most short-lived chief minister the state would ever have.

Reporters counted 42 MLAs as they walked out of the Ranchi airport including five Independents who said they would only vote for the NDA. Three MLAs from the UPA camp did not turn up for taking the oath where a total of 77 legislators, 36 of the UPA and 41 of the NDA, were sworn in by pro-tem speaker Pradeep Kumar Balmuchu.

The three legislators supporting the UPA who did not turn up, were Kamlesh Singh of the NCP and Aparna Sengupta and Bhanupratap Sahi, both of the Forward Bloc.

The fact that the Supreme Court had taken it upon itself to advance the date of the test of strength from 15 March to tomorrow was strongly criticised in Parliament by the United Progressive Alliance with Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee holding an all party meeting on the issue.

Predictably, the BJP said the Supreme Court had done nothing it was not supposed to do and pointed out that even in the past, it had modified and criticised the actions of a Governor, especially his discretionary power that were not properly defined by law.

'The Supreme Court is competent to decide whether Lord Ram was born in Ayodhya or not. But it can't intervene to correct the conduct of a Governor. This is ludicrous' said BJP spokesman Vijay Kumar Malhotra at the briefing.

Legal luminary and Rajya Sabha member Fali Nariman sought to raise the issue of 'judicial activism' but was shouted down by BJP leader Sushma Swaraj.

'He is one of the lawyers in the Goa case, so he is an interested party. He should not be allowed to speak' said Swaraj.

Minister for Science and technology, Kapil Sibal said Swaraj was trying to question Nariman's professional integrity. Nariman, uncomfortable with the hurly-burly of Rajya Sabha, merely said he was 'yielding to you' and sat down.

He was told he must yield to the Chair and not to another member "� Swaraj in this case "� but he did not speak again.

At current count, the NDA and its supporters number 42 in an assembly that has 81 elected members and one nominated member.

The nomination of this member, from the Anglo-Indian community, has been stayed by the Supreme Court following a petition by former Chief Minister Arjun Munda.

The Governor, Sibte Razi, the man in the eye of the storm, said he was distressed by what was happening. But in Ranchi events were moving at breakneck speed.

After administering the oath of secrecy to 77 MLAs, Jharkhand pro-tem speaker Pradeep Kumar Balmuchu served notice to Jharkhand Party MLA Enos Ekka, asking him why he should not be disqualified for going against his party directive of supporting the UPA.

Jharkhand Party chief NE Horo had given in writing to the Governor that its lone MLA, Ekka, supported the UPA, while he has given his support to the NDA.

But the notice holds little water, because in the case of a lone MLA of a party, the law dictates it is what he says inside the legislature that is the party whip, not what his party leader outside the House tells him to do.

Shibu Soren, on the other hand was the epitome of self confidence and claimed he was going to win the vote tomorrow. He claimed that among the 42 NDA MLAs, the three legislators 'Ekka, Kora and Rai were forcibly driven away in a bus after they took the oath'.

'However, I am confident of winning the trust vote tomorrow,' he said.