Jamshedpur, May 23: Jharkhand chief minister Arjun Munda today said his government was under no threat from the coalition partners and denied that state electricity board (JSEB) chairman Rajeev Ranjan was replaced under pressure from them. "My government will not compromise on issues which are against the interests of the state .... It wants positive results in its development work, including in the power sector and the replacement of the JSEB chairman was done to improve the team work," he told newsmen here.
The government, he said, was prepared to take any step to protect the interest of the general masses.
Energy minister Lalchand Mahato of Samata Party has been demanding Ranjan's removal for the past several months and former chief minister Babulal Marandi had to step down about two months ago as he refused to bow down to the pressure.
Referring to the functioning of JSEB, Munda said a separate unit would be created for transmission, distribution and rural electrification in the state soon.
Former IAS officer B K Chauhan was nominated chairman of JSEB by the state government yesterday.
Meanwhile, Marandi told newsmen last night appointment of JSEB chairman was within the chief minister's jurisdiction and he did not see anything wrong in Munda's decision.
"The style of functioning varies from person to person ... While Munda considered it worthwhile to replace Ranjan, I had to resign for refusing to remove him under any pressure," he said. Bureau Report