Parliament on Wednesday approved the proclamation of President's Rule in Jharkhand, where former chief minister Arjun Munda had resigned after his government was reduced to a minority in January.
The resolution for the proclamation of President's Rule, moved by Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde, was passed by voice vote in the Lok Sabha. Rajya Sabha had already passed the resolution on February 26.
Jharkhand was brought under President's Rule for the third time since its formation 12 years ago, on January 18, after the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha withdrew support from the Bharatiya Janata Party-led government there.
Rejecting the charges that President's Rule was imposed so that the Congress could directly rule the state, Shinde said, "We are not happy to continue President's Rule for long. There should be no doubt that we want to run the government there."
"When President's Rule was imposed, three months after the JMM and BJP formed the government, we (Centre) did not create any hassle. The Congress said it didn't want to form the government," the minister said.
Taking a dig at the Opposition, he said, "We are facing so many obstacles in running a coalition government (at the Centre). You should have also dealt with that because running a coalition government is an art".
Earlier, participating in the discussion on the resolution, BJP member Ravindra Kumar Pandey demanded fresh elections. Claiming that the Centre has been targeting the Jharkhand government in one way or the other, Pandey alleged, "Raj Bhavan (in Jharkhand) has become the office of the Congress".
“Expected support from the Centre is not coming through for the state. Many (development) schemes are not being implemented in Jharkhand," he said.
According to him, the Centre, twice, sent back the report on BPL (Below Poverty Line) families and the latest BPL report is yet to be implemented in Jharkhand.
Supporting the resolution, Congress member Jagdambika Pal from Uttar Pradesh said BJP's only intention was to come to power in Jharkhand and that was also the reason for toppling the Shibu Soren government in Jharkhand earlier.
"It is because of BJP that Jharkhand was brought under President's Rule," he said.
Pal said that since the state came into being in 2000, eight governments have been formed in Jharkhand.
Samajwadi Party leader Shailendra Kumar said the sooner an elected government comes to power, the better it would be for the people.
Kumar demanded a special package as well as special status for Jharkhand, which is a backward state.
SP leader Baliram demanded that democracy be restored soon in Jharkhand.
Janata Dal – United leader Bhudeo Choudhary demanded fresh elections in the state for the sake of democracy.
Jharkhand Vikas Morcha Prajatantrik leader Ajay Kumar said that no party can form the government in the state and hence there should be fresh elections.
Independent candidate Inder Singh Namdhari said the political parties in the state were responsible for the imposition of President's Rule because they “offered the state on a platter to the Centre”.
"Don't give the message that President's Rule is Congress rule in the state," he said.
Namdhari said that during the President's rule, Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh has approved many dwellings under the Indira Awas Yojana and the governor is giving an impression that the development work is being done by Congress representatives.
