Under attack, BJP seeks SIT into Jharkhand ‘horse-trading’

RANCHI: Amid allegations of attempts to destabilise the JMM-led coalition government in Jharkhand and a Congress legislator’s claim to have been offered “Rs 50 crore and a ministerial berth”, JMM and Congress on Monday alleged that BJP stands exposed in the episode.
BJP refuted the charge and demanded an SIT probe headed by a sitting judge of the high court into the matter. In the 81-member Jharkhand assembly, JMM led by Hemant Soren has 30 MLAs, Congress 16, JVMP three, RJD one while BJP has 25 members. There are also four independents. The alliance of JMM, Congress and RJD had won 47 seats, six more than required for a simple majority in the state assembly polls.
“Some people have been approaching me and other MLAs to destabilise the government,” Kolebira MLA Naman Bixal Kongari said. Asked whether the persons were from BJP, he said he was not sure but some of them had named a few BJP members. The remarks came after three people were arrested on Saturday for allegedly conspiring against the government.