Soren sworn in, BJP protests

A s Shibu Soren of the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) took oath as the second chief minister of Jharkhand, both Houses of Parliament in Delhi were rocked by protests led by MPs of the BJP-JD(U) combine.

While Speaker Somnath Chatterjee could manage to get some standing committee reports tabled in the Lok Sabha, the Rajya Sabha got adjourned within minutes of being convened.

The scene was not much different in Ranchi either as BJP and JMM activists came to blows near the Assembly building.

The BJP-JD(U), which had staked claim to form the government in the state with the requisite support of 41 MLAs, were shocked when Governor Syed Sibtey Razi invited JMM chief Shibu Soren instead.

The JMM-Congress alliance is claiming that it has the support of 42 MLAs, including two independents who had earlier pledged support to the BJP-JD(U) combine. The pre-poll alliance has a tally of 26 seats to which have been added nine of the RJD, three seats of JMM rebel Stephen Marandi and the UGDP, and four independents.

To disprove the JMM-Congress numbers, the NDA is planning to parade its 41 MLAs in Delhi tomorrow. Earlier, five independent MLAs met the governor and extended their support to the NDA which claimed to have support of 41 legislators in a house of 81.

The Jharkhand governor has asked Shibu Soren to prove his majority on the floor of the House by March 21. Soren, who was closeted with the governor for an hour this morning, said, "We have submitted a list of 42 MLAs and have staked claim to form the government." The JMM chief was accompanied by Harikesh Bahadur, Congress leader in Jharkhand.

The controversy over the independent candidates, who may be common to both the lists continues to plague both parties. The Congress has claimed that the NDA had abducted at least two independent MLAs"" Enos Ekka of the Jharkhand Party and Hari Narayan Rai"" to make sure the Soren government cannot prove its majority on the floor of the Assembly.

The confusion could stem from the fact that though Ekka appears to be with the NDA, the leader of his party, N E Horo, is supporting the UPA. Sudesh Mahato, the other independent candidate from the AJSU, could also be persuaded to join the UPA camp, sources said.

BJP President L K Advani, on his way to meet President APJ Abdul Kalam on the issue said that the action of the governor was reminiscent of the time when internal emergency had been imposed in the country in 1975, by late Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.

"That was a draconian measure but at least there was an honesty in it. This time what Governor Jamir of Goa and Governor Razi have done besmirches the institution of governors," he said.

He said that the presence of Union Water Resources Minister Priya Ranjan Dasmunshi and former Chhattisgarh chief minister Ajit Jogi in Ranchi hinted at the fact that the "travesty of democracy had been abetted by 10 Janpath." He said that the NDA would protest against the governor's conduct.