Ranchi (Jharkhand) [India], June 19 (ANI): Amid speculation over cross-voting in the Rajya Sabha elections, political reactions continued on Friday with Congress and CPI(ML) Liberation offering contrasting claims on the conduct of their respective MLAs. Jharkhand Minister and Congress leader Irfan Ansari alleged that alliance partners had “betrayed” the coalition at a crucial stage.
“We believe RJD and CPI(ML) betrayed us. We fully supported Chief Minister Hemant Soren, yet they deceived us at the crucial moment. The BJP is swallowing regional parties across the country. By stabbing your allies in the back, you are making a grave mistake,” he claimed.
However, CPI(ML) Liberation General Secretary Dipankar Bhattacharya dismissed the allegations and asserted that the party’s votes were cast strictly as planned. He said, “As for speculations over Jharkhand Rajya Sabha voting, we can tell with full responsibility that our two MLAs voted for the Congress candidate as planned. Two of our senior leaders, PBM Haldhar Mahato and CCM Geeta Mandal, duly verified the votes cast by @cpimlliberation.”
Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) National General Secretary Bhola Yadav also asserted that all four party MLAs had voted for the INDIA bloc candidate in the recent Jharkhand Rajya Sabha elections. Speaking on the issue in Ranchi, Yadav said the voting was carried out strictly in line with the directions of party leadership, including Lalu Prasad Yadav and Tejashwi Yadav.
“As per the directions of our leader, Lalu Prasad Yadav and Tejashwi Yadav, all our four MLAs voted for the INDIA bloc candidate Pranav Jha. I was there as the observer. All four of them showed me the same, and my eyes cannot deceive me. I have seen it clearly,” Yadav said.
He further suggested that Congress should conduct an internal review to understand what went wrong during the polling process and urged its state leadership to introspect and resolve internal issues.
“Congress should probe what went wrong. I feel that the Congress in charge should self-introspect, and their matters would be resolved,” he added.
The remarks come amid political buzz over alleged cross-voting in the Rajya Sabha elections in Jharkhand, which has triggered speculation within the INDIA bloc regarding coordination among its constituent parties. (ANI)
Related reading
