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Jharkhand Governor Ramesh Bias may take a call on Friday on the view of the Election Commission which recommended "disqualification" of Chief Minister of Jharkhand Hemant Soren as a Member of Legislative Assembly (MLA) for violating electoral norms, the sources at Raj Bhavan said.
The Election Commission of India has reportedly told the Governor that the Chief Minister should be "disqualified" as he violated several electoral norms.
However, the Raj Bhavan has officially not confirmed the development.
The Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) led UPA alliance in Jharkhand expressed confidence in the Chief Minister and also claimed that he will remain in the post till 2024. The alliance will move to the Supreme Court if he is disqualified.
Jharkhand Governor told reporters that he would be in a position to comment only after he took stock of the developments.
"I was in AIIMS, Delhi for two days. I will be in a position to tell about any such decision when I reach Raj Bhavan," he had said after arriving in Ranchi on Thursday.
The Election Commission of India sent its opinion in a sealed cover to Governor on 25 August on a plea seeking that Chief Minister should be disqualified as an MLA for violating electoral norms by extending a mining lease to himself.
The BJP, which is the petitioner in the case, has sought Hemant Soren's disqualification for violating Section 9(A) of the Representation of the People Act, 1951. The section deals with disqualification for government contracts.
The clause states that "a person shall be disqualified if, and for so long as, there subsists a contract entered into by him in the course of his trade or business with the appropriate government for the supply of goods to, or for the execution of any works undertaken by, that government".
Under Article 192 of the Constitution, the rulings regarding an MLA's disqualification shall be referred to the Governor of the state, who in turn "shall obtain the opinion of the Election Commission and shall act according to such opinion".
BJP MP Nishikant Dubey had on Thursday claimed that "the Election Commission letter has reached the Governor, I had announced that it will be done within August".
The Chief Minister's secretariat, the JMM and the Congress objected to his comments.
Soren has alleged "blatant misuse of constitutional authorities and public agencies", after reports claimed that the Election Commission recommended his "disqualification" as an MLA in the mining lease case.
Soren’s office had on Thursday said no communication in this regard “has been received by the Chief Minister's Office from either the Election Commission or Governor Ramesh Bais".
"It seems that BJP leaders, including a BJP MP, and his puppet journalists have themselves drafted the EC report, which is otherwise always given in a sealed cover," Soren said in a statement issued by his secretariat.
"This blatant misuse of constitutional authorities and public agencies and its complete takeover by BJP HQ in Deendayal Upadhyay Marg in this shameful manner is unseen in Indian democracy," he said.
The UPA alliance has 49 MLAs in the 81-member assembly. JMM is the largest party with 30 MLAs, the Congress has 18 legislators, and the RJD one. The main opposition party the BJP has 26 MLAs in the assembly.
The coalition partners, meanwhile, denied any threats to the government.
With Inputs from PTI.