Jharkhand Health Minister Banna Gupta expresses unhappiness over the way JMM chief and CM treats the Congress
When Banna Gupta, the Congress leader and Minister for Health in the Jharkhand government blurted out at his Chief Minister and captain of his own cabinet, it sounded as if there is much more than meets the eye in the party’s relationship with coalition partner Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM). Banna Gupta’s allegation was that the coalition partner leader and JMM boss Hemant Soren was trying to weaken the Congress party in the state.
Coming from the coalition partner and minister, Hemant Soren is sure to take offence. Banna Gupta went on to allege that is trying too hard to pocket the Congress voter base in the state. The lashing out at Hemant Soren by Banna Gupta found its audience in the Congress party senior functionaries who had assembled for a three-day ‘Chinthan Shivir’ organised at Madhuban.
The way Banna Gupta put the situation across was unique. He banked on a Hindi song to make the leaders in his party understand the gravity of the situation currently prevalent in the state, and how Congress is being pulled down.
Boatman sinking boat, says Jharkhand Minister
Gupta crooned the song ‘Jab manjhi hi naav dubaaye, usse kaun bachaye’ to put across the whole idea that though the Congress is part of the coalition government and that the current situation is akin to what the song explains. Interestingly, the line that Gupta crooned translates as “if the boatman himself sinks the boat, then who will save it!
The barbed attack was clearly aimed at Hemant Soren, who is the boatman of the boat called the government formed by the JMM-Congress coalition. Alleging that the Chief Minister is trying to lead the Congress party to a dead end, Banna Gupta stated that there is no way such a coalition can go on.
Congress leaders urged to stick to ideology
Urging fellow leaders of the Congress in Jharkhand to follow the party’s ideology and principles, Banna Gupta stressed at the Chinthan Shivir that it is important for the party leaders to ensure that the Congress ideology and principles should not weaken.
The Jharkhand coalition government could be a headache for the Congress party, if such developments keep on happening. It is being said that there are many in the state Congress unit who are unhappy about the way the coalition has been working. It remains to be seen whether the party top leadership would intervene to straighten things out.