Jharkhand governor gives the time of 5.30 pm to Leader of JMM legislative party, Champai Soren to meet him at the Raj Bhavan, ANI reported.
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Former Chief Minister Hemant Soren, who was arrested on Wednesday late at night in a land scam case, has been sent to judicial custody until the next hearing on tomorrow. During today’s appearance in court, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) asked for 10 days of custody. Hearing both sides, the PMLA court posted the matter to February 2 (Friday) for further hearing and order.
Meanwhile, Jharkhand Governor C P Radhakrishnan has given time to meet the MLAs at 5.30 pm today. After Hemant Soren’s resignation and subsequent arrest Wednesday, the new JMM legislature party leader, Champai Soren, had staked claim to form the government, but the Governor had sought time. Soren was arrested after more than seven hours of questioning by the Enforcement Directorate in a money laundering case linked to a land scam. Earlier, he tendered his resignation to Radhakrishnan at the Raj Bhavan, where he went along with alliance legislators. The Supreme Court is set to hear a plea against the arrest by the ED tomorrow.
What is the ED case? The development caps days of drama between Soren and the investigative agency – from the ED searching his Delhi residence to his party lashing out for “maligning” his image. The investigation pertains to a “huge racket of illegal change of ownership of land by the mafia” in Jharkhand, according to the agency. Earlier, the ED had recorded the statement of Soren on January 20 under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). The ED has, so far, arrested 14 people in the case, including 2011-batch IAS officer Chhavi Ranjan who served as the director of the state’s social welfare department and deputy commissioner of Ranchi.
Jharkhand governor gives the time of 5.30 pm to Leader of JMM legislative party, Champai Soren to meet him at the Raj Bhavan, ANI reported.
Newly elected leader of the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha legislature party, Champai Soren, on Thursday said he was waiting for an invite from the Raj Bhavan to form the government as he has the support of 47 MLAs in the 81-member assembly.
"We are waiting for 15-16 hours whereas oaths are administered within two hours of stake claim and invite in other states," Champai Soren told news agency PTI.
"We yesterday handed over a letter of support from 43 MLAs to the governor. Now we have the support of 47 legislators," Champai Soren said.
Former Jharkhand CM Hemant Soren's wife Kalpana Soren and his sister Anjali Soren met him at the ED office today. Soren was arrested late Wednesday night after more than seven hours of questioning by the Enforcement Directorate in a money laundering case linked to a land scam. Earlier, he tendered his resignation to Governor CP Radhakrishnan at the Raj Bhavan.
The Jharkhand High Court on Thursday heard a petition filed by former chief minister and JMM leader Hemant Soren challenging his arrest by the Enforcement Directorate in a money laundering case.
Former union minister Kapil Sibal, appearing virtually for Soren, told the court that the JMM leader was wrongly arrested by the ED.
He submitted before the court seeking more time to advance his arguments.
Soren on Thursday also moved the Supreme Court challenging his arrest by the central agency in the money laundering case.
A bench comprising Chief Justice DY Chandrachud and Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra agreed to hear the plea of the former Jharkhand chief minister on Friday. (PTI)
In a video message recorded just before his arrest, former Jharkhand CM and head of the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) Hemant Soren claimed that he was not linked to the money laundering case in which he was arrested and asserted that he would not “cow down”. “After a full day of questioning, ED decided to arrest me in matters which are not related to me. No evidence has been found by them yet. I wil not cow down…Ultimately truth will prevail,” he said.
After Jharkhand CM and JMM chief Hemant Soren was arrested late Wednesday night, the ruling JMM-led coalition proposed the name of senior leader Champai Soren as the new state head.
Champai Soren wrote a letter to Governor CP Radhakrishnan, staking a claim to form the new government in the state.
A seven-time MLA, Champai Soren represents the Seraikella constituency in Jharkhand and is also the state Transport Minister.
"We will continue to work to safeguard the pride of Jharkhand. We have staked claim to form the government in the state. We have the support of 47 MLAs. You have seen how the voice of the Adivasis here has been suppressed over the years," he said while speaking to news agency ANI.
Jharkhand Mukti Morcha executive president and former chief minister Hemant Soren has said that the time has come to wage war against a feudal system that oppresses poor, dalit and tribals.
In a video message recorded just before his arrest, Soren said, “Most probably ED will arrest me today, but I am not worried as I am Shibu Soren's son...After a full day of questioning, they decided to arrest me in matters which are not related to me. No evidence has been by them found yet. They also tried to spoil my image by conducting raids at my Delhi residence. We have to fight a new fight now against those who commit atrocities against the poor, Adivasis, Dalit and the innocent..."
Protesting against the arrest of former CM Hemant Soren, several tribal outfits gave a call for Jharkhand bandh on Thursday.
Speaking to PTI, Kendriya Sarna Samiti president Ajay Tirkey said 15-20 tribal organisations from across the state will join the shutdown.
"Despite cooperating with the ED in the investigation, Hemant Soren was arrested. We protest this," he said.
Tirkey said that emergency services would not be hampered by the shutdown. "We will not disturb schools if they were opened on Thursday," he added. (inputs from PTI)
Former Chief Minister Hemant Soren, who was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED), moved the Jharkhand High Court on Wednesday night.
The ED arrested Soren after over seven hours of questioning on money laundering charges in an alleged land fraud case. Before the arrest, he tendered his resignation as chief minister.
Soren's petition will be heard by the bench of Acting Chief Justice Shree Chandrashekhar and Justice Anubha Rawat Choudhary at 10.30 am on Thursday. (PTI)
Speaking on the arrest of Jharkhand CM Hemant Soren, state BJP spokesperson Pratul Shal Deo said he had shamed Jharkhand nationally and internationally.
“This was bound to happen in Jharkhand. CM was accused of being involved in a Rs 70,000 Crore scam. After selling everything, he sold defence land in Ranchi too. His problems increased after that. He kept justifying it and defying ED summons. The CM forgot that the law is above all - like most 'political princes' feel that the law will not touch them. He was missing for 40 hours and was arrested after questioning...He has shamed Jharkhand nationally and internationally,” he said.
Barely two months before the Lok Sabha elections, the embattled INDIA bloc Wednesday suffered another political blow — the late-night arrest of JMM leader Hemant Soren by the Enforcement Directorate on corruption charges minutes after his resignation as Jharkhand Chief Minister.
This comes days after Nitish Kumar’s JD(U) walked out of the INDIA bloc and returned to the NDA, stunning the Opposition parties.
Stumbling from one crisis to the next, the Opposition alliance, however, hopes to project the arrest of the 48-year-old tribal leader as yet another “outrageous political” move by a “vengeful” and “dictatorial” BJP government out to finish the Opposition and silence its critics. (Manoj C G writes)
As Jharkhand CM Hemant Soren was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in a money laundering case, the development would be watched keenly by several sitting and former CMs from Opposition parties who are also being probed by the Central agency.
In a sharp response to Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) leader Hemant Soren, Union Minister Kiren Rijiju called him a "spolied child" and said if Hemant Soren hails from a tribal community, this does not give him a licence to loot public money.
"I am a tribal from a more backward area. I find your comment funny. If Shibu Soren ji says this dialogue, then I can accept it, but this dialogue does not suit a spoiled son. Anyway, tribals do not have the licence to loot public money," wrote Rijiju in a post on 'X'.
His comment came in response to Hemant Soren's share on X, saying that he was not afraid and would not accept defeat.
Jharkhand will wake up on February 1 without a Chief Minister, after the Governor told the ruling JMM-Congress alliance that he will revert to their proposal to appoint JMM’s Champai Soren as the leader of legislature party after considering all legalities. Chief Minister Hemant Soren had submitted his resignation to Governor C P Radhakrishnan at Raj Bhavan on Wednesday night, moments before his arrest by the Enforcement Directorate.
The ruling coalition of JMM, Congress and RJD has 29, 17 and one MLA respectively. In the Opposition, the BJP has 26 and the AJSU three. The CPI(M-L) and NCP (AP) have one MLA each while there are two independents.
The Governor not showing immediacy has led to some concerns in the JMM-Congress camp, sources said. (Abhishek Angad writes)
Hemant Soren, the Jharkhand Chief Minister and head of the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM), was arrested on Wednesday night after more than seven hours of questioning by the Enforcement Directorate over alleged ownership of a piece of land.
The agency had also seized Rs 36 lakh in cash and a luxury SUV from his Delhi residence a day earlier.
Not long before his arrest, Soren submitted his resignation to Governor C P Radhakrishnan at Raj Bhavan. “CM Hemant Soren has decided to resign. Champai Soren has been chosen as the new leader of the Legislative party… All the MLAs are with us,” Jharkhand Congress president Rajesh Thakur said. The JMM and Congress are allies in the state. (Abhishek Angad writes)
Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren gestures as he leaves from his residence for Raj Bhavan, in Ranchi, Wednesday, Jan. 31, 2024. (PTI Photo)
Ranchi: Jharkhand ruling alliance's MLAs wait outside the Raj Bhavan, in Ranchi, Wednesday, Jan. 31, 2024. (PTI Photo)
Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren submits his resignation to the Governor CP Radhakrishnan, in Ranchi, Wednesday, Jan. 31, 2024. Jharkhand Cabinet Minister Champai Soren is also seen. (PTI Photo)
Ranchi: Jharkhand Cabinet Minister Champai Soren waves as he leaves for Raj Bhavan from Chief Minister Hemant Soren's residence, in Ranchi, Wednesday, Jan. 31, 2024. (PTI Photo)
Jharkhand Police Wednesday lodged an FIR against senior ED officials under SC/ST Act at the SC/ST police station in Ranchi based on a complaint by Chief Minister Hemant Soren over searches conducted by the agency at his Delhi residence.
Soren alleged that the ED conducted the search operation at his residence in the national capital to “harass and malign him and his entire community”, the FIR stated.
Soren wrote in his complaint that the ED officials had informed the media of the purported search to create a media spectacle and cause disrepute to him in the eyes of the general public. Read More
Bringing an end to a long-drawn-out drama, senior JMM leader Hemant Soren was arrested on Wednesday night, soon after he had stepped down as Chief Minister. Before he resigned, he had spent the day being questioned by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in connection with a money laundering case.
Soren’s arrest came after he had skipped nine ED summons, the last being on Monday, when he allegedly “disappeared” before officials reached his Delhi residence for questioning in the ED investigation into a “huge racket of illegal change of ownership of land by the mafia” in Jharkhand.
While dogged by investigations by Central agencies in several cases, Soren has insisted these are part of a political conspiracy to destabilise his Jharkhand government. For the JMM, the script is painfully familiar as Soren’s father, JMM founder-patriarch and three-time CM Shibu Soren’s political career remains tainted with a similar corruption allegation. Read More
As Hemant Soren resigned as the Chief Minister of Jharkhand on Wednesday night, his loyalist and state Transport Minister Champai Soren has been proposed by the ruling Jharkhand Mukti Morcha(JMM)-led coalition as the new state head.
Soren has been a legislator from Saraikela assembly constituency for more than three decades since 1991 and is known to be a loyalist of JMM supremo Shibu Soren. He served as the Science and Technology, Labour and Housing September 2010 to January 2013 and a minister of Food and Civil Supplies, Transport from July 2013 to December 2014 under the third Jharkhand Assembly. Read More
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