Journalism of Courage
Reiterating his accusation that the BJP tried to destabilise his government, Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren on Wednesday said he was able to outmanoeuvre the alleged attempts since he is a leader of people from backward and tribal communities, the poor and the oppressed class, and not of “punjipati (moneybags)” class.
Asked how he was able to repel alleged attempts to topple his government, Soren said: “I am not a businessman, and I don’t represent any punjipati. I represent Adivasis, Dalits, backwards and the poor…. It is challenging for anyone today to work honestly, and we consider this (bid to topple) a part of this… We represent people who are intellectually, financially, politically weak and leaders who come from such a class can only do this (outmanoeuvre). Their leader cannot be a businessman.”
On his relationship with Governor Ramesh Bias, who has not conveyed the Election Commission’s decision — the EC had earlier sent its opinion to Bais on Soren’s possible disqualification over his ownership of a mining lease while being the mines minister— Soren said, “My relationship is not sour with the Governor. He holds a constitutional post…”
The Jharkhand government has faced constant criticism since February this year after it emerged that Soren owns a mining lease. Two PILs were filed in Jharkhand High Court — one on the mining lease, and the other on allegations of money laundering through shell companies — against Soren and others also kept his government on the backfoot.
Soren had on multiple occasions accused the BJP of trying to bring down his government — at one point, he had even sent many MLAs to Congress-governed Chhattisgarh, purportedly to save them from BJP’s alleged poaching attempts. The BJP had denied the allegations.
