In a jolt to Madhu Koda-led United Progressive Alliance government in Jharkhand, the Forward Bloc, upset over induction of its suspended legislator into the ministry, withdrew support to it on Thursday night.
The party's decision, however, does not threaten the government's stability.
The party faxed a letter, signed by party state president and legislator Aparna Sengupta and general secretary Janardhan Pandey, to Governor Syed Sibtey Razi conveying to him the withdrawal of support.
It said the party was 'disillusioned' with the Koda ministry for not keeping the promises made during formation of government in September last year and expressed reservations over induction of its suspended legislator Bhanu Pratap Sahi in the cabinet.
Sahi was sworn in as a minister earlier in the day after his father Hemandra Pratap Dehati resigned as Health Minister. Sahi had earlier failed to make it to the cabinet as there were three warrants of arrest pending against him in Garwah. His father, who is not a legislator, was then sworn-in as a member of the Koda cabinet on October eight last year.
Sahi surrendered before a court a couple of months ago and secured bail from the Jharkhand High Court.
AIFB general secretary Debabarata Biswas said, "We have given support to the UPA coalition from outside with certain conditions. The Koda government ignored one of the conditions by inducting our suspended legislator Bhanu Pratap Sahi into the ministry."
He said Sahi was suspended from the party and not expelled. Sahi, however, has been maintaining that he was an independent legislator in the 82-member assembly as the Forward Bloc had expelled him before the formation of the UPA government.
Koda, who heads the 43-member UPA coalition, is an independent legislator.
Koda had in September formed the government with the support of Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (17), Congress (nine), Rashtriya Janata Dal (seven), United Goan Democratic Party (two), Forward Bloc (two), NCP (one), Chandraprakash Choudhury of the AJSU and independents Enos Ekka, Harinarayan Choudhury and Stephen Marandi.
Congress and RJD are supporting the government from outside.
Though the lone CPI (ML-Liberation) legislator Vinod Kumar Singh sits in the opposition bench, his party had said it will support the UPA government in the eventuality of the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance trying to topple the Koda government
