Soren's MLA disqualification issue should be settled in court, not by BJP-appointed Guv: TMC

Kolkata: The Trinamool Congress (TMC) on Thursday opined that the issue of disqualification of Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren as an MLA should be settled in the court and not by a "BJP-appointed governor".

The Mamata Banerjee-led party wondered whether the BJP was attempting to destabilise the JMM-Congress-RJD government in the eastern state and thrust mid-term election on the people.

Reacting to unconfirmed reports that the Election Commission of India has sent its opinion in a sealed cover to Jharkhand Governor Ramesh Bais stating that Soren be disqualified for violating electoral norms by extending a mining lease to himself, TMC spokesperson Jai Prakash Majumdar said: "To settle such issues, the court of law is the right place as per the Constitution and not a BJP-appointed governor."

The BJP, the petitioner in the case, has sought Soren's disqualification for violating Section 9 A of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, which deals with disqualification for government contracts.

The clause states, "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."

The issue was referred to the governor and by him to EC, as Article 192 of the Constitution says on rulings regarding an MLA's disqualifications, the question shall be referred to the governor who in turn "shall obtain the opinion of the Election Commission and shall act according to such opinion."

Majumdar added: "If the BJP wants to destabilise Jharkhand government, I wonder if it's ready to spend crores of rupees for running campaigns by facilitating a mid-term election. It seems the BJP thinks it can topple opposition government using money and agencies. If this is the BJP's game plan, it won't succeed."

"In any case, this issue needs to be addressed as per constitutional provisions in the court of law for the truth to come out," the TMC leader said.

Soren alleged blatant misuse of constitutional authorities and public agencies after the reports surfaced but his secretariat said there has been no official communication from either the ECI or the Raj Bhavan.

The ruling alliance has 49 MLAs in the 81-member Jharkhand assembly, with 30 of the JMM, 18 of the Congress and one of the RJD. The coalition partners said there was no threat to the government.