Imphal, March 25: Owing to strong pressure exerted by Union Railway Minister and National RJD president Lalu Prasad Yadav on UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi to induct one of the RJD MLAs in the next expansion of the SPF Ministry headed by I Ibobi, AICC has reportedly started discussing the matter seriously.

On the other hand, slightly deviating from its earlier demand for inducting two of its MLAs from out of the four MLAs in the Council of Ministers, CPI which is another partner of the SPF, has adopted the wait and watch policy on the move to be taken up by the Congress.

The meeting between Union Railway Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav and AICC president Sonia Gandhi in connection with the demand to induct Md Hellaluddin Khan, who has also been elected as the Legislature Wing leader of RJD to the Council of Ministers, has been communicated to the State Unit RJD leaders by National party leader and Union Minister of State for Water Resources Jai Prakash Narayan.

According to sources from the State unit RJD, to ensure induction of Md Hellaluddin in the SPF Ministry, Lalu Prasad has entrusted party's National general secretary and Union Minister of State Jai Prakash Narayan for taking up necessary action before embarking on his foreign tour today.

RJD North East in-charge Harish Mahapatta also met Union Minister Oscar Fernandes who is the AICC North East-in-charge and urged him to give the same sort of treatment to RJD in Manipur in accordance to the norms of the UPA at the Centre, sources from the State RJD unit disclosed.

Expressing regret over not recognising RJD as a member of the SPF Steering Committee, a party spokesman told The Sangai Express that since RJD MLAs have been included not only in the list of the MLAs submitted to the Governor by Chief Minister O Ibobi at the time of staking the claim for formation of the new Government but that they are also occupying seats in the Treasury bench of the Assembly, it is imperative that RJD should be recognised as a member of the SPF Steering Committee.

On top of this, in earlier meetings with the leaders of National and the State Unit RJD, AICC president Sonia Gandhi and Chief Minister O Ibobi Singh had also given assurances to the effect of the inducting at least one of the party MLAs in the Council of Ministers, the spokesman claimed.

Meanwhile, taking note of the voices of dissension within the CLP in connection with the proposed Ministry expansion of the SPF Government for the second time expansion of the SPF Government for the second time, CPI which is an important partner of the Government and had been demanding two of its MLAs be inducted in the Council of Ministers has decided to wait and watch the move of the Congress party for the time being.

A party spokesman said that though CPI was earlier demanding for two Ministerial posts, it has stopped exerting pressure in this regard.

However, even if CPI is in the Govt, it would not be blinded and would definitely take up some concrete measures of its own in the interest of the people and their issues, the spokesman added.

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