Jharkhand trust vote on Sept 14

The Arjun Munda cabinet in Jharkhand on Thursday decided to convene the assembly session from September 14 to take up the trust vote.

Jharkhand Governor Sibte Razi had on Wednesday asked the chief minister to prove his majority in the assembly on or before September 15 after the latter sought an opportunity for a floor test.

Cabinet Secretary Aditya Swaroop said the cabinet decided that if the debate concluded on September 14, the trust vote will be taken up that day. Otherwise, it will be taken up the following day.

He said that the Monsoon session of the assembly, which was adjourned sine die on August 25, had not been prorogued. Therefore it was being extended to September 14.

The Governor's decision had come following the resignation of four ministers -- Enos Ekka, Harinarayan Rai and Madhu Koda (all Independents) and Kamlesh Singh (Nationalist Congress Party) – from the government and their withdrawal of support to the Bharatiya Janata Party-Janata Dal (United) coalition after which it had been reduced to a minority.