RS gives green nod for Prez rule in Jharkhand

New Delhi: Rajya Sabha on Tuesday approved the proclamation of President`s Rule in Jharkhand where former Chief Minister Arjun Munda had resigned after his government was reduced to a minority last month. Jharkhand was brought under President`s Rule for the third time since its formation 12 years ago on January 18 after JMM withdrew support from the BJP-led government there. The House approved the proclamation of President`s Rule with voice vote after a debate on the issue. Replying to the debate, Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde refuted suggestions that the Central Government had made any attempt to destabilise the state government. "Something else other than administration was happening there....We do not have such a mindset. Did we go to the JMM to ask them to withdraw its support to pull the government?" he said. The Home Minister said it was "difficult" to run coalition governments and cited the example of the UPA-II government being run by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

"You should have will power to run a coalition government .... We do not want small states to suffer because of these things," he said. The Home Minister said the gap between the last two occasions when President`s Rule was imposed in the state was around three months and if the BJP wants, it can again stake claim to form Government. He said Governor Syed Ahmed had tried for three days to resolve the crisis in the state before recommending the imposition of President`s Rule in the state. PTI