If there was one thing conspicuous during the swearing-in ceremonies organised for expansion of the Hemant Soren dispensation, it was the absence of Opposition party leaders from the official function, held with much fanfare at Raj Bhavan.
It may sound bizarre but for parties of Jharkhand, it’s just another way of disagreeing with people at the helm. Democracy provides space for diversified viewpoints where parties with different affiliations operate in the same space. However, for leaders of Jharkhand, transcending the space to express differences is democratic, justified and a precedent quite in agreement with the democratic principles.
“This is not the beginning of wrong precedent,” said senior JVM leader Pradeep Yadav. For the JVM stalwart, the Congress-Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) coalition is against the aspirations of people hence it is reason enough to abstain from the occasions like this. “We had said in the very beginning that we are against this Government,” said Yadav adding, “We abstained from the programme to covey our stand on the Government.”
Interestingly, principal Opposition party, the BJP, also shared the JVM’s views on neither becoming witness to the swearing-in of Hemant’s Government nor of the expansions taken place for the second time on Saturday. “We were against this opportunistic alliance like this since beginning,” said BJP spokesperson Pradeep Sinha. Disgruntled with Congress cold-shouldering demands of dissolving the Assembly and going for elections the BJP chose to stay away from functions held on August 4 and 24. For the party, Congress’ opportunistic attitude is more to blame for the BJP’s behavior.
“P Chidambaram had said in Parliament that elections will be held in the State after expiry of President’s Rule. However, the Congress formed a Government,” said Sinha. He also admitted that although it is unjustified, the party was compelled to take such a step. “We are not setting any wrong precedent neither we want to set one,” maintained Sinha. It seems the Opposition sees no way out of the corner that events have painted it into.