Mahagathbandhan smells ‘conspiracy’ as state BJP leaders meet party brass in Delhi

Ranchi: BJP’s leader of legislative party Babulal Marandi’s sudden meeting with Union home minister Amit Shah in Delhi on Friday has raised eyebrows of the JMM-Congress-RJD ruling dispensation in Jharkhand, which has accused the saffron party of resorting to horse-trading attempts during the Rajya Sabha polls last month.
The recent political turmoil in the Congress government in Rajasthan, owing to revolt by a few lawmakers led by deputy CM Sachin Pilot, was also alleged to have been orchestrated by BJP.
In Jharkhand, both Congress and JMM are on alert to keep their house intact. Speaking with reporters on Friday, chief minister Hemant Soren said no such rebellion is possible in this state where the opposition (BJP) is “directionless and leaderless”.
Congress on Saturday questioned the need for Marandi's visit to Delhi during the pandemic, even though he dubbed his trip as a courtesy call to apprise Shah about the “poor law and order situation” in the state.
Talking to TOI, state Congress spokesperson Alok Dubey said Marandi is hatching some sort of a conspiracy. He said, “A sudden meeting like this cannot be dismissed as a mere courtesy call. We sense there is a deeper political message hidden behind this urgent meeting.”
He added that both Shah and Marandi remained confined to their homes for months fearing the virus and stayed away from any political activities. However, Marandi’s sudden trip to Delhi has more to it than just a discussion over law and order issues.
Defending the mahagathbandhan government’s work since the change of guard in Jharkhand, another Congress spokesperson Lal Kishorenath Shahdeo said despite the challenges of financial crunch, the Hemant Soren dispensation has been steadily overcoming all obstacles.
He said, “Law and order is not an issue in the state, but BJP seems to be rattled by police and administrative action against their corrupt leaders. The party is in tizzy after all its wrongdoings and land grabs by its government in the last five years have started surfacing.”
On the other hand, the newly elected Rajya Sabha member and state BJP president Deepak Prakash too met BJP national president J P Nadda in the national capital on Saturday to discuss the “evolving political” situation in the state.
Reacting to Soren’s remarks, Prakash said, “The CM’s comments on the opposition are distasteful as the opposition is as important as the ruling dispensation in a democracy. As far as BJP is concerned, it believes in service to the nation and its people irrespective of it being in power or not.”