Chief Minister Hemant Soren on Tuesday urged all the legislators of the fifth Jharkhand Assembly to move beyond party divides and contribute towards productive functioning of the Assembly. Addressing the inaugural ceremony of a two-day training session for legislators in Project Building, Soren said that serving the people of the State should be paramount for every legislator irrespective of party lines, ideology and personal opinions.

“The Assembly is the largest Panchayat of the State. This is where all the decisions related to development of the State are taken. Being the leader of the house, I expect my fellow legislators to avoid disruptions in the Assembly sessions and participate in healthy debates over relevant topics,” Soren said.

The two-day training session for legislators, including ministers, is aimed at ensuring smoother functioning of the Assembly by sensitising the members of the house.

“Many of our legislators have several years of experience under their belt. Some legislators have made it to the Assembly for the first time. The training session, however, is equally helpful for experienced as well as newbie legislators,” said Assembly Speaker Rabindra Nath Mahato.

The Chief Minister on Tuesday said that higher strength in the Assembly does not give any political party the right to pass decisions that may not go down well with the common people or hurt the sentiments of any group.

 The remark comes at a time when the opposition in the Centre is criticizing the ruling NDA Government for passing the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) amid widespread protests.

“Having strength in the house does not entitle a party to pass decisions that may have negative impact on the masses or a group. The opposition has to play a crucial role in the Assembly for smooth and productive functioning of the house,” he said.The first Assembly session under the current Government was held on January 6 in the old Vidhan Sabha building this year. The current State Assembly has 29 Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) legislators, 16 Congress party MLAs, one Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) MLA, 25 Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLAs, three Jharkhand Vikas Morcha (JVM) MLAs and the remaining seven are independent candidates. 

At present, there are 11 ministers in the State Cabinet including Chief Minister Hemant Soren. The tripartite alliance of JMM, Congress party and RJD dethroned the former BJP Government here by crossing the magic figure of 41 in the Assembly. Results for the Assembly elections were declared on December 23 last year.

Training and sensitization of legislators has been a regular practice in Jharkhand. Some former Governments also planned to rope in premiere B schools such as the Indian Institute of Management (IIM) for imparting trainings to the legislators here. Some legislators have made it to the State Assembly for the first time in the current Government, while many have decades of experience, sources said.