Soren strikes deal, to vote for UPA
Press Trust of India
Sunday, July 20, 2008, (New Delhi)
Ending the suspense over its stand on the July 22 trust vote, the JMM with five MPs on Sunday announced support to the UPA government, apparently after clinching a deal with the Congress for return of its chief Shibu Soren to the Union Cabinet.
"All the five MPs of the party will vote in favour of the UPA government during the trust vote," Soren told reporters after a meeting with UPA chairperson and Congress chief Sonia Gandhi in New Delhi.
Soren said he would return to the Union Cabinet as Coal Minister and his party has been promised a Minister of State berth also.
However, he refused to name who will be nominated as the Minister of the State.
The JMM chief said he has no objection of getting the Cabinet berth after the trust vote.
"However, if it is possible it should come before the vote."
"The Congress chief considered the issues that we put before her. We are with the government and vote fore it," Soren added.
When asked whether the door of NDA have been shut for him, Soren said, "it is natural as talks were already finalised with UPA."
"JMM is a secular party so we have allied with a secular alliance, all our grievances have been shorted out," said Jharkhand Deputy Chief Minister Sudhir Mahto, who accompanied Soren during his meeting with Gandhi.
"All talks of split in the party should come to an end now. We are united and we have proved that today. The party has unanimously taken the decision to support the UPA government," said Suman Mahto, a party MP.
The Deputy Chief Minister said the party has presented a 13-point demand list to the Congress president, which included demand of shifting the headquarters of Coal India Ltd and Damodar Valley Corporation from West Bengal to Jharkhand.
The party has also repeated its old demand of expanding the state into Greater Jharkhand by including three districts each from West Bengal and Orissa.
Apart from it, they have also demanded a package of Rs 5,000 crore for the development of the state.
The party has also urged the Centre to accord ST status to the tea tribes of Assam.