Former Jharkhand chief minister and Jharkhand Mukti Morcha leader Hemant Soren on February 5 alleged that the Raj Bhavan was instrumental in his arrest after a "conspiracy" was hatched by the Centre. While speaking in the Jharkhand assembly, the former chief minister said, “Raj Bhavan was instrumental in my arrest after a conspiracy hatched by the Centre.”
"A black night and a black chapter was added to the democracy of the country on the night of January 31. I think this is the first time in the country's history that a chief minister was arrested inside the Raj Bhavan. I don't remember if this has happened before or not. I feel Raj Bhavan has collaborated in this episode," Soren added.
The JMM executive president was speaking in the Assembly ahead of the floor test. The ex-chief minister, who was in the custody of the Enforcement Directorate (ED), was allowed by a special PMLA (Prevention of Money Laundering Act) court to participate in the trust vote.
"They have been planning this January 31 episode for a long time, since 2022. They were cooking this up in low flame for a long time. But this dish was not ready to be cooked. However, they served the half-cooked dish for themselves and they arrested me," Soren alleged.
"The way the episode has been planned has left me surprised because I come from an Adivasi family and am not well-versed in the rules and procedures...However, the ability to distinguish between right and wrong is there in every human and every animal," the former chief minister said.
The arrested CM also challenged the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to prove the corruption charges against him, asserting that if the accusations are proved, he will quit politics.
“I challenge the BJP to prove corruption charges against me. If proved, I will resign from politics,” said Hemant Soren.
JMM legislature party leader Champai Soren took oath as the chief minister of Jharkhand on February 2, after the Enforcement Directorate arrested Hemant Soren in a money laundering case.
Meanwhile, the CM has moved the confidence motion in the 81-member Assembly. The chief minister said that the Centre is misusing the agencies. "The one who is ruling the Central government misused agencies. In 2019, Hemant got the mandate. Such a chief minister is arrested in a land scam case," the chief minister said. He also said that in Jharkhand's history, an attempt is made to suppress their leadership whenever the tribals try to increase their capacity.
(With inputs from ANI and PTI)
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