Patna, New Delhi: Ahead of his arrest by the Enforcement Directorate, Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren met Governor C.P. Radhakrishnan at the Raj Bhawan on Wednesday and tendered his resignation.
On Wednesday, the ED officials questioned Mr Soren for more than seven hours in the money laundering case linked to the alleged land scam. According to sources, after his arrest, Soren was taken to the ED office. Reports indicate that he will likely be produced before the special court on Thursday.
While the ED grilled Mr Soren, the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) legislators gathered at the CM residence and elected party general secretary Champai Soren as the leader of the legislative party. The JMM leaders said that a consensus was reached on Champai Soren.
Earlier, there was speculation that Soren’s wife Kalpana Soren's name could be proposed as the new chief minister. Reports suggest that some JMM members, including a few among Soren's relatives, opposed the move and asked the party leaders to drop the idea of proposing Kalpana Soren’s name to avoid a revolt in the party. Subsequently, a consensus was reached on the name of Champai Soren for the post of chief minister.
Speaking to the media after meeting with the governor, Champai Soren said, “We have submitted a letter with the signature of 43 MLAs. The ruling coalition has the support of 47 MLAs, but a few of them were not available today. They will be available at the time of the floor test.”
Congress MLA Alamgir Alam, who also met the governor along with Champai Soren, said, “The governor wants some time to analyse the situation and assured us that he will revert soon. We have staked a claim and are ready for the floor test. We have the strength to form the government and are waiting to form the government."
On Tuesday, responding to the BJP claims that the Jharkhand chief minister was evading the ED investigation into an alleged land scam case, Mr Soren chaired a meeting with coalition MLAs.
Political observers, however, are of the view that the confusion has deepened in the state after Mr Soren's resignation on Wednesday. They argue that if the governor is not convinced by the ruling coalition's claim of a majority to form a government in the state, he may recommend President's Rule.
However, the senior JMM leaders claim that “the ruling alliance has already presented the letter of support with the signatures of 43 MLAs, which is more than the required number to form the government. The ruling coalition has the support of 47 MLAs. They will be present during the floor test in the state Assembly. We will pass the floor test easily.”
Meanwhile, the police stepped up security outside the CM house, the governor’s residence and the ED office and also imposed Section 144 in these areas. Sources said that security was heightened in the area, fearing violent protests by the JMM supporters who had been camping at Ranchi’s Morabadi ground ever since the ED started grilling Soren on Wednesday.
On Wednesday, the ED officials reached Mr Soren's Ranchi residence at 1.20 pm to question him in a money laundering case linked to an alleged land scam. According to the sources, Soren was asked as many as 40 questions as part of a probe into a "huge racket of illegal changes in land ownership by the mafia" in Jharkhand. He was also questioned in two other money laundering cases.
Soren (48), who is also the executive president of the ruling JMM, had earlier been questioned in connection with the case on January 20.
