New Delhi: In an alleged money laundering case Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren was being questioned by ED. He claims that this probe is a part of a larger conspiracy by the BJP to destabilize the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha-Congress government.
He also addressed the possibility of his disqualification as MLA for awarding himself a mining contract. This address of his was based on BJP’s complaint to Election Commission. He further demanded that Governor Ramesh Bais should “open the envelope” quickly.
The commission is learnt to have recommended that Soren should be dethroned from Assembly Membership. “The Governor has said he’s sought a second opinion. But we have asked the Election Commission, and we’ve been told there is no such opinion sought,” Soren said.
He further added, “I’ve heard the Governor is waiting for something.”
Hemant Soren also claims that charges against him are baseless and the BJP-led central government will soon go after more leaders from Opposition-ruled states.
Addressing his supporters before going to the ED office he said, “I hold a constitutional post as Chief Minister. But the way the probe is going, the way I’m summoned, it’s like they think I am the kind of person who would flee the country. I can’t remember anyone other than big businessmen having fled the country. No politician has fled like that.”
He also claimed that attempts to unseat him were taken many times after JMM-Congress won in 2019. “The conspirators were working like a submarine, too scared to come up. But that submarine is now being brought to the surface.”
Soren’s political aide Pankaj Mishra, Bachhu Yadav, and Prem Prakash are in ED’s custody in this case.
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The ED says it has “identified” ₹ 1,000 crores as “proceeds of crime relating to illegal mining.”
Hemant Soren is constantly emphasizing that such a scam is just not possible. Soren stated in a point-by-point written response to the summons before going in for in-person questioning that his government had increased the state’s earnings from mining royalties. He stated that “to embezzle 1,000 crores, unlawful mining would have to be four times the legal mining” in the Sahibganj district, where the scam is claimed.
“To transport this, one would need 20,000 railway rakes or 33 lakh trucks. The Railways would not transport it without a valid document. Have you acted against any railway official?” he submitted.
“The whole state earns ₹ 750 crores in the past two years, the period during which you have alleged a ₹ 1,000-crore scam. I think you have not taken note of these facts and data before making allegations,” he further said to the agency.
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