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Munda sworn in Jharkhand chief minister

     Ranchi: BJP leader and former Chief Minister of Jharkhand, Arjun Munda was sworn in as the new Chief Minister of Jharkhand today at Ranchi's Morabadi grounds. Munda will have to prove his majority by March 21. Five other independent MLAs who also took oath with Arjun Munda are Madhu Koda, Enos Ekka, Sudesha Mahato, Chandra Prakash Choudhary and Hari Narayan Rai. Meanwhile, the Jharkhand Pro tem Speaker Pradeep Kumar Balmuchu tendered his resignation to Governor Syed Sibtey Razi here today. The resignation came hours before the swearing in ceremony of Arjun Munda, who won a bitter political battle to the CM's chair in Jharkhand. Munda took oath as the Chief Minister of the state as the 10- day-long political drama ended with Shibu Soren stepping down from the Chief Minister's post after failing to prove his majority in the state assembly as directed by the Supreme Court. According to sources, earlier, in the last minute resistance before the Governor, Syed Sibtey Razi, who called Soren to resign, Soren refused to tender his resignation during the hour- long meeting at the Raj Bhawan last evening. Soren was sworn in as the Chief Minister on March 9.

     Soren, however, after the persuasion of some Congress leaders announced his resignation in the midnight, the deadline set by the Supreme Court for completing the trial of strength. Arjun Munda, who had been the Chief Minister of Jharkhand for close to four years, met the Governor close to midnight and was given the appointment letter. Munda will be sworn-in as the Chief Minister today, a Raj Bhawan communique said. It became quite evident on Friday that Soren would resign when the Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs said that constitutional propriety demanded that Soren should resign. It was also said that the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was upset at the constitutional "deadlock" created by Pro-tem Speaker Pradeep Kumar Balmuchu. Balmuchu failed to hold the trial of strength as he set himself on a collision course with the apex court.

Mumbai is back on track, BEST strike over (Go To Top)

     Mumbai: The Mumbaikars can now take a sigh of relief, the ongoing strike of the Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) employees has been called off. The strike, which started on Friday, had kept over 3000 BEST buses off the roads, affecting nearly 45 lakh people. The deadlock ended after talks between the management and the employees, who have been demanding a wage revision. The strike had its effect on nearly 3400 BEST buses that ply over 45 lakh commuters in Mumbai. Commuters faced a lot of inconvenience as BEST buses went off the city's roads. The BEST management tried to ply some buses, but the striking workers pelted stones, injuring four bus drivers and conductors. The BEST workers were on strike to protest the Pay Revision Committee's proposal to reduce dearness allowance from 129 per cent to 100 per cent. BEST not only takes care of transport, but electricity distribution too. But power supply in the city was not affected.

Congress walks down Gandhiji's road again (Go To Top)

     Ahmedabad/New Delhi/Lucknow: Hundreds of people joined Sonia Gandhi on Saturday in a re-enactment of the famous Dandi March, analysts said was a political gimmick aimed at bolstering her image. Mahatma Gandhi, 75 years earlier, led the famous Dandi March from Ahmedabad to the coastal Dandi town in Gujarat in defiance of a colonial law that allowed only the government to make salt, triggering patriotic fervour. Sonia, briskly walked three-kilometres as dozens of political leaders followed her amid shouts of "Long Live Sonia Gandhi". Thousands of people plan to wind their way through the heat and dust of Gujarat over the next 26 days to re-enact the 380- kilometres long Dandi March in a bid to bolster the strength of the Congress party, which heads the Central coalition in New Delhi. But analysts said the grand show in Gujarat, ruled by the BJParty, was a political gimmick aimed at restoring Sonia Gandhi's image that has been tarnished by charges of political opportunism after recent state elections. Many followers of Mahatama Gandhi stayed away from the march. Tom Vadakkan, party's media secretary, said that the Congress planned to revive the message of tolerance in the state rocked by the country's worst religious riots in a decade in 2002. "Today's march is indicative of perhaps of the next step the Congress would like to take in the state, - to bring a sense of hope amongst the people, to bring the economy on track and to bring back the secular values. This is what we saw while traversing across the state," he said. Congress supporters also organised peace rallies across the country to coincide with the main event. "This teaches us the lesson that we can fight injustice with truth and non-violence in the same way as Gandhi did. And for that we do not need a large number," said Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad in New Delhi.

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