Jharkhand ruling coalition lawmakers firmly behind CM Hemant Soren 

Ranchi, January 3: Legislators of the ruling JMM-led coalition in Jharkhand met here on Wednesday and discussed the present political scenario in the backdrop of the ED’s summons to Chief Minister Hemant Soren.

Legislators of the ruling coalition partners (Congress and RJD) in Jharkhand on Wednesday expressed solidarity with the Hemant Soren government and said the JMM leader will continue as the state chief minister.

The meeting was chaired by Soren himself.

A statement from the chief minister’s secretariat said “An important meeting of ministers and MLAs of the ruling coalition was held today under the chairmanship of Chief Minister Hemant Soren. The latest political situation in the state was specifically discussed in this meeting. The chief minister gave his views on the entire incident and informed everyone about it. … All the MLAs expressed their full confidence in the chief minister.” All the legislators expressed solidarity with the chief minister “under all circumstances”, it said.

“In any situation, all of them (MLAs of the coalition parties) are completely united and they will thwart any conspiracy against the chief minister and the state government,” the statement added.

Soren has been in the eye of a political storm after the Enforcement Directorate summoned him in connection with its probe into an office-of-profit case.

He has skipped six earlier summonses by the ED, accusing the BJP-led Union government of using central agencies to destabilise his democratically elected government. The seventh summons was issued last month.

Besides, the Election Commission had sent a letter to the then governor of Jharkhand, Ramesh Bais, in August 2022, which is believed to have recommended his disqualification as an MLA as a mining lease given to him was renewed during his tenure as the state’s chief minister.

However, neither Bais nor his successor C P Radhakrishnan opened that letter.

Meanwhile, Soren has dismissed speculations of his wife Kalpana Soren contesting from Gandey assembly constituency in the state and termed it as a “complete imagination” of the BJP.

The speculations were triggered by the EDs recent summons to the chief minister coupled with the sudden resignation by the ruling JMM’s MLA from Gandey, Sarfaraz Ahmad, on Monday.

The opposition BJP has claimed that Ahmad was made to quit so that Kalpana Soren could contest from Gandey in case of any eventuality in connection with the ED summonses.

Congress meet

Ranchi: New Congress state-in-charge and AICC general secretary Ghulam Ahmed Mir held a meeting with party legislatures at Ranchi on Wednesday and discussed on strengthening party organisation at ground level in view of 2024 Lok Sabha polls and state assembly elections.

At the meeting the MLAs and organisation secretaries reposed faith on party national president Mallikarjun Kharge on seat sharing for the Lok Sabha polls in the state parliamentary seats and decided to abide by the decision taken on seat sharing by the party national president.