Ranchi
Jharkhand Chief Minister Champai Soren expanded his council of ministers on Friday. Mithilesh Thakur, Baby Devi, Hafizul Ansari, Basant Soren and Dipak Birua — all from the JMM; and Banna Gupta, Rameshwar Oraon and Badal Patralekh from the Congress were sworn in as the eight ministers. Governor C.P. Radhakrishnan administered them the oath of office and secrecy at a formal ceremony in the Raj Bhavan.
Basant Soren and Dipak Birua are new faces in the Champai Soren cabinet. While Basant is JMM chief Shibu Soren’s youngest son and represents Dumka in the State assembly, Dipak has been winning the Chaibasa Vidhan Sabha seat since 2009. He defeated senior BJP leader and State’s former home secretary J.B. Tubid in 2014 and 2019.
It is widely perceived that through this expansion, Champai Soren has also tried to balance the social equations of tribal politics in the fast changing scenario. Basant is a Santhal and had also played a key role in keeping all the ruling front legislators girdled together after his brother Hemant Soren had to quit and was arrested in a money laundering case linked to an alleged land scam. Hemant is in judicial custody in Hotwar Jail till February 22.
Basant’s entry also means the JMM’s first family continues to have a representation in the Government.
Contrary to Basant, Hemant’s sister-in-law (wife of Shibu’s eldest son late Durga Soren) Sita Soren had struck a defiant note making it clear she would not accept Hemant’s wife Kalpana Murmu Soren as Chief Minister in any eventuality.
For his part, Dipak Birua belongs to Ho tribe, which has often been dominating power politics in the Kolhan region, from where Champai also hails.
Jharkhand Minister Hafizul Hasan attacked the Centre saying, “Today the oath we have taken is an ‘oath of sorrow’. Our leader is jailed and we are taking oath. This situation has arisen because of the dictatorship of the central government.”
The Champai Soren government was formed on February 2. Alamgir Alam of Congress and Satyanand Bhokta of RJD too were sworn as ministers along with Champai. It proved its majority support on the floor of the House on February 5.
Champai Soren said, “Today the expansion of the cabinet has been done and responsibilities will be given to all the ministers, then will take the work forward.”
Portfolios were allotted later in the evening with Basant getting the departments of Road Construction, Building Construction and Water Resources. All those departments not allotted to anyone else have also been given to him.
On his expectations from the new Government, Jharkhand Governor CP Radhakrishnan said, “This government should pay attention to the Law & Order. The gangs and their leaders should be put under tight control in the state. They should not be allowed to take law & order into their hands. My second expectation (from the present government) is to give good education to the youths of Jharkhand.”
Earlier, the expansion of the Champai Soren cabinet was proposed on February 5 and 13, but was postponed due to several factors including a demand being made from within the Congress camp to replace its old Ministers with new ones. Ahead of the Lok Sabha polls and the Assembly elections later this year, the Congress, however, chose to stick to its old hands.
