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EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE
NEW DELHI, SEPT 18: Two days after the CWC took a firm stance in support of a Jharkhand state within Bihar, the party is having to do some serious rethink on the issue in light of the troubles in the Bihar Congress.
The issue forced an informal 45-minute meeting of the CWC this morning at party president Sonia Gandhi's residence where the option of a slow change in stance was discussed. CWC member and AICC general secretary in-charge of Bihar Madhavrao Scindia was asked to brief the CWC on the precise state of things in the Bihar Congress.
Following Scindia's presentation that things weren't simple in Patna, the CWC felt it must ``wait and watch'' the situation. This essentially means that the party will wait till the last moment before taking any concrete stance. The Bill proposing to create a Jharkhand state of 18 districts within Bihar is slated to come up for voting on September 21 in the Bihar Assembly.
Logically, the party should have issued a whip asking its 29 Bihar MLAs to vote for the Bill inkeeping with the CWC's stance. But that hasn't happened as yet, indicating that the Congress could veer around to what Laloo Yadav has been saying: creation of a greater Jharkhand comprising tribal-dominated areas of Orissa, West Bengal, Bihar and Madhya Pradesh.
It seems that some sort of consensus is emerging on the Laloo line with the official cover of not doing anything which would help the BJP. The BJP-Samata alliance is all for the Bill while the RJD has already issued a whip asking its members not to vote for the Bill. The Janata Dal today said in Bihar that the current Bill must not be voted for and that a fresh one be drafted on the proposed Jharkhand state.
The CPM too has taken a similar line and the Congress might well be forced to alter its own view. The CWC had two days ago snubbed Laloo and Mulayam Singh on the proposed Uttarakhand and Jharkhand states. But in the current fluid situation, anything is possible. Including a silent change of policy on Jharkhand.
The Bihar Congress is in abad shape but whatever is left is also divided over the proposed Jharkhand. One section feels that it should be formed, mainly the Jharkhand unit of the party. The other section is taking the Laloo line saying the bifurcation of Bihar was a bad idea.
The CWC too has its share of differing opinions. The Sitaram Kesri group, for example, is backing Laloo on Jharkhand. Tariq Anwar feels a greater Jharkhand is a better idea.
Meanwhile, the JD's Bihar unit today said the Bihar reorganisation (Vananchal) Bill, 1998, should be kept in abeyance and that a State Reorganisation Commission (SRC) be set up. State JD president Ramjeevan Singh and legislature party leader Ganesh Yadav said a national policy should be evolved for reorganising the states and till then the BJP-led government at the Centre should keep in abeyance the Bill aimed at bifurcating Bihar.
Copyright © 1998 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.
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This story was printed from Net Express located at http://www.expressindia.com. Net Express provides a portal to India, with news from The Indian Express and The Financial Express along with sites on travel and tourism, the entertainment industry, the power sector, the environment and much more.
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