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Mandal's expulsion will only revive JMM, says Soren

Jharkhand Mukti Morcha president Shibu Soren today ruled out a split in the party following the suspension of its vice-president Suraj Mandal. In Ranchi, Soren also hinted at the possibility of Mandal's expulsion following his ''indulgence in anti-party'' activities even after his suspension from the party for six years.

''It appears that he, instead of mending his style, had gone ahead with his intention of damaging the Morcha's political interests for which he may be expelled,'' Soren said. Describing the December 15 meeting of the Morcha, called by Mandal, as ''illegal'' he said the latter had no authority to convene the meeting as he had been suspended from the party's primary membership. Disciplinary action would be initiated against those attending the meeting, he added.

Mandal and his supporters had called the meeting of the Morcha's central committee as a show of strength and to initiate the expulsion of Shibu Soren from the party for his ''dictatorial attitude and attempts to make the Morcha a pocket organisation.''

Soren was critical of the manner in which Mandal had ''opened fronts'' against him.

Reacting to Mandal's view that he and his wife were ''illiterate'' he wondered why Mandal, who was so ''literate'' had been with him for 15 years in the party which he headed.

Denying that Mandal's suspension would affect the functioning of the Jharkhand Area Autonomous Council, he said differences between him and Mandal were in the Morcha and not in the JAAC where Soren, as the chairman, had been delegated full powers, and Mandal, as vice-chairman, was to work under him.

He also refused to accept that Mandal's suspension or even expulsion would have any impact on the Jharkhand movement. Instead, his ouster would give a fresh momentum to the Morcha and also pave the way for the coming together of other Jharkhand parties which had distanced themselves from the JMM because of Mandal's style of functioning.

On the issue of statehood Soren said agitation was now the only option left before the people of the 18 districts for the realisation of their age-old dream of Jharkhand. With the Bharatiya Janata Party ''failing'' to ensure the passage of the Bihar State Reorganisation Bill in Parliament's ongoing winter session the Morcha had undertaken a series of agitational programmes, he informed.

Soren described as ''baseless'' media reports that the JMM was planning to forge an alliance with the Rashtriya Janata Dal, which was opposed to the creation of Jharkhand, for the coming assembly election in Bihar. He said the Morcha had already given a call to the people of south Bihar to foil the December 14 Bihar bandh called by the RJD in protest against the state's bifurcation.

He said his party in its first phase of agitation for statehood had called a Jharkhand bandh on December 13. He described Mandal as ''anti-Jharkhand'' saying his announcement to remain neutral during the Jharkhand bandh once again proved his ''honesty'' towards the statehood issue.

UNI

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