Expected to appear for questioning before the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in Ranchi on Thursday, Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren alleged that the claims against him in the illegal mining case are a "conspiracy to destabilise the government". “This is beyond my understanding how the Rs 1,000 crore illegal mining figures were reached. The allegations are not possible at all. I am in a constitutional post, and the way the summons are being issued, it seems politicians will leave the country… This is a conspiracy,” he said during a press conference on Thursday morning, accusing his political "rivals" of "conspiring to topple the government". He further stated that such allegations create uncertainty in the state. Jharkhand CM about to address a press conference. @IndianExpress pic.twitter.com/vcFeFMXKF1 — Abhishek Angad (@abhishekangad) November 17, 2022 While addressing the media, the Jharkhand Chief Minister rebutted each of the Enforcement Directorate's allegations in the illegal mining case. "For it to happen, 8 crore metric tons of stones need to be mined, which is four times the legally mined quantity," he said. He further pointed out that 20,000 trains and 33 lakh trucks would be required to carry out something of this scale. " It is basically not possible." Sources told The Indian Express that Soren is likely to go to the ED office alone, while coalition MLAs stay at the CM’s official residence. A ‘Jan Aakrosh’ rally is also being planned and workers are gathering at Morabadi in Ranchi. In the run-up to his appearance before the ED, Soren has been rallying forces. On Thursday, BJP MLA from Gandey, Jayprakash Verma, joined the JMM. Soren said the ‘Moolvasis‘ and ‘Adivasis‘ have to unite, and that earlier governments did not care about “jal, jungle, and jameen“. Alleging that his post was not being taken into account, the Jharkhand Chief Minister said: "I'm a CM and the manner in which summoning is being done makes it look like we're people who flee the country." Soren said that he had written a letted to the ED, inviting an "honest attempt by the agency" as he is "committed to ending illegal mining" in the state.
