The drama ahead of the confidence motion of July 18 tipped over the political cauldron when a man was arrested on Monday midnight for allegedly trying to bribe suspended BJP legislator Baidyanath Ram to vote in favour of Hemant Soren.
The BJP and Congress-JMM were quick to distance themselves from the man from Singhbhum.
On Monday night, Ram called up the police and handed over one Suman Chaudhary, accusing him of offering a bribe. Chaudhary however, claimed he was innocent. He also asserted that he was a member of BJP from Adityapur in Seraikela-Kharsawan.
During his interrogation, Chaudhary said he had been called up by the former Minister, but would not reveal anything more. According to police, a case of cheating and bargaining has been registered against him.
“An FIR has been lodged under the Prevention of Corruption Act and Representation of People’s Act against Chaudhary. His mobile phone details are being scanned,” said SSP Saket Kumar Singh.
Chief Minister Hemant Soren chose to remain silent on the incident involving Ram as also the numbers game at hand.
The “refusal” of two JMM MlAs — Nalin Soren and Sita Soren — to submit to the process of law has added wrinkles to the ruling combine’s forehead, as the number of supporters will decline to 41 in the House. Hemant had submitted a list of 43 MlAs to Governor Syed Ahmed.
An independent MlA, playing an important role in Government formation, feared it would be tantamount to misleading the Governor if all 43 MlAs do not remain present during the vote.
According to sources, Nalin, facing arrest in the seed scam, is likely to surrender on Wednesday but it is not sure whether he will get permission from court the same day to attend the House.
The JMM is also uncertain whether Sita, under the CBI scanner for the cash-for-vote scam, would ‘oblige’ her devar (brother-in-law). “She fears the CBI will nab her as and when she re-surfaces,” said a source.
Congress Minister Rajendra Singh asserted there was no warrant against Sita. “The CBI court had issued her summons to appear before July 21,” he added. A CBI official also supported Singh’s contention.
Singh told The Pioneer that convicted MlA Sawana lakra has moved court to get permission to attend House.
The offer of cash for vote, meanwhile, triggered a surge of allegations and counter-allegations.
The Congress held a Press conference to clarify that the bribe-giver was not related to the Congress but, in fact, was a member of the BJP youth wing. “It was a move to malign the image of politics of Jharkhand,” said party spokesman Shailesh Sinha.
He also flourished photographs of Chaudhary posing with BJP heavyweights like Yashwant Sinha, Shatrughna Sinha and Ravindra Rai.
BJP State president Ravindra Rai, on the other hand, maintained Chaudhary was a Congressman. He also accused Governor Syed Ahmed of being the mastermind behind this game of horse-trading. He dismissed the photographs, which he said could be easily manipulated.
JMM legislator Haji Hussain Ansari said, “The accused is not linked to Jharkhand Mukti Morcha. BJP is hatching a conspiracy against our party.”
Interestingly, Ram, who had faced action from BJP following a scandal involving his lady friend, had earlier warned the leadership to revoke his suspension or he would chart his own plan during the trust vote.
He pointed out that the next 48 hours were crucial for the Government and investigating agencies, including the income tax department and CBI, all on alert to stop horse-trading by the Congress-JMM-RJD combine.
Senior BJP leader Saryu Roy had on Monday alleged that Rs 90 crore had been kept aside for buying votes of legislators to win the trust vote. He had also mentioned some businessmen lobbyists.