Congress Demands 10-Crore Bait In Jharkhand

The money recovered from the car of three Congress MLAs of Jharkhand in Kolkata’s Howrah is a mere ‘token amount’! When those MLAs reached Guwahati, were they going to get 10 crore rupees in each person’s hand? Did Assam Chief Minister, BJP leader Himanta Biswa Sarma buy Congress MLAs to topple Hemant Soren’s government in Jharkhand? After the arrest of three Congress MLAs from Jharkhand with cash in Sankrail, this question sparked a political battle in Delhi, Kolkata and Guwahati last Sunday.

The Congress alleged that the money seized by the Howrah Rural Police actually came out of the BJP’s coffers. The BJP was trying to buy MLAs with money to topple the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha-Congress-RJD coalition government led by Hemant Soren. Jharkhand Congress MLA Kumar Jaimangal last Sunday complained in writing to the Ranchi police that he was offered Rs 10 crore and a ministry. The Congress on Sunday suspended three impeached MLAs Rajesh Kachhap, Naman Bixal Kongari and Irfan Ansari from the party. Avinash Pandey, acting leader of Jharkhand in AICC, claimed, “What Assam Chief Minister did in Delhi in the last seven days, who he met, talked to, video conferenced, there is a record of everything. When the time comes, it will all be made public.”

Role of WB police 

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The West Bengal Police has started an investigation into the incident. The complaint filed by Jaimangal with the Ranchi police is being forwarded to the West Bengal police. Based on this, speculations have started whether the state police will investigate Himant’s role. Trinamool Congress has again questioned the role of Suvendu Adhikari in this incident. The spokesperson of the party, Kunal Ghosh, demanded, “The opposition leader of the state, Suvendu Adhikari, should be taken into custody and questioned. Because he said, after Maharashtra, now Jharkhand! BJP state president Sukanta Majumdar said that Suvendu Adhikari has gone to Nagpur for an operation. Sukanta needs to be asked, what does he mean by ‘Nagpur operation’?”

Congress claims that Himanta Biswa was in charge of ‘Operation Kamal’ in Jharkhand. According to Jaimangal, the three MLAs who were detained in Kolkata called him to come to Kolkata. They said, if he goes to Guwahati from Calcutta and meets Himanta, he will get ten crore rupees and assurance of ministry. “I was assured that Himanta Biswa Sarma was doing this with the blessings of the BJP top leadership,” Jaimangal alleged to the police.

Biswa’s statement  

Himanta Biswa argued, “Not only Congress MLAs, but also big heads are in regular contact with me. As an old Congressman, I also often talk to Jharkhand MLAs. I have even been in direct contact with the complaining MLA for 20 years.” Himanta Biswa did not directly say anything about the allegations of money offers, ministerial offers to Congress MLAs. He also did not deny his contact with Congress MLAs. Sukanta Majumdar also said, “We will try to form government in all states. Where is the mistake? But these words have no basis. Trinamool should think about Bengal.”