Under pressure for sheltering anti-social elements and patronising extortion racket run by ‘Jharkhand Tiger Force’, Congress Minister in the Hemant Soren-led Government Yogendra Sao may be asked to vacate office. Though, following the allegation leveled on the Badkagaon MlA by an arrested member of the organisation, the Congress had formed a three-member panel and the Government has also ordered a CID probe.
The party is believed to have made up its mind to jump the gun and just waiting a final call to be taken by its high command sitting in Delhi. “Police will do its own paperwork into the matter but safeguarding the image of the party is also important. Keeping the image of the Congress into mind the party may take a call anytime. We have not received any direction from the high command as of now,” Pradesh Congress Committee president Sukhdeo Bhagat told The Pioneer on Monday.
The three-member panel formed by the State Congress has started its exercise vis-à-vis the allegations and visited Hazaribagh on Sunday. Given a week’s time to come up with its findings, the panel headed by party’s OBC cell Manoj Yadav would start meeting party workers from the Minister’s constituency Badkagaon and adjoining areas from Tuesday.
“Our panel is for probing the matter at the party level. After all, the allegations are serious and the party needs to answer those in public. It has nothing to do with police investigation and nor with the action the party takes against him on moral grounds,” said Shamsher Alam, one of the members of the panel.
However, indications coming from the party suggest strongly that days of the Agriculture Minister in the office are counted. “The allegations are very serious in nature and the party would not take any chances keeping Assembly polls in mind. The Minister has not presented any solid defense in his meetings with party leaders or the Chief Minister and also before the media,” said a senior leader.
Nevertheless the PCC president officially maintained in a press conference that the Minister in dock would be given sufficient time under the natural justice and the panel’s report would be awaited. At the same time he also sought for similar treatment for two other Ministers facing allegations in the Tara Shahdeo case.
“A a party we first ensure that resignation from Yogendra Sao is taken if necessary and then we would of course put pressure on the CM for the other Ministers in the Cabinet if they are guilty,” added Bhagat. Hazi Hussain Ansari of the JMM and Suresh Paswan of the RJD have been charged with intimacy with Ranjit Singh Kolhli alias Raquibul Hassan, estranged husband of Tara Shahdeo.
If Yogendra Sao is removed he would be second from the Congress quota after Chandrashekhar Dubey and third from the Hemant Soren Cabinet after JMM’s Simon Marandi to be shown door during its just over one-year long stint so far.