Ranchi, January 30: Jharkhand’s ruling JMM on Tuesday said that it will file a case against state BJP chief Babulal Marandi for allegedly defaming Chief Minister Hemant Soren by his comment on the JMM leader’s “absence” in the state capital Ranchi.
JMM spokesperson Supriyo Bhattacharya said a similar case will also be filed against a BJP MP who “tweets frequently”, apparently indicating Nishikant Dubey.
The JMM also questioned the purpose of the visit of ED officials to Soren’s official residence in Delhi on Monday, when he was scheduled to face questioning by the central agency on January 31.
“The CM is not just an individual but a prime institution of the state. But, the way the BJP made allegations against the individual and institution, it qualifies the criteria for Section 499 of CrPC (Defamation). We will soon lodge a criminal case against the president and an opposition parliamentarian who tweets frequently,” he said.
Soren had left for New Delhi on January 27 night. Amid suspense about his whereabouts, he reached his official residence in Ranchi on the intervening night of Monday and Tuesday.
In his post on X, Marandi said: “People heaved a sigh of relief as chief minister Hemant Soren, who had fled on foot from his Delhi residence late on the night of January 28, returned to the CM residence in Ranchi safe and secure, almost 40 hours later.” Marandi, a former chief minister, also took a dig at Soren, saying how much trouble Soren had faced during his rush to cover the distance of 1,295 km from Delhi to Jharkhand.
The federal agency searched the 5/1 Shanti Niketan residence of the JMM leader in south Delhi on Monday, and camped there for almost 13 hours in order to question him, officials said.
The ED as per sources has seized Rs 36 lakh, a BMW SUV and some “incriminating” documents from there, they said.
About the “recovery” of Rs 36 lakh, the JMM spokesperson said, “Wasn’t that planned by ED and Babulal (Marandi) Ji? They are treating him (Soren) like a criminal but I would like to state that our CM is not afraid of anyone.”
He also hinted that the cash might have been planted in the car by the ED which is acting at the behest of the BJP-led Centre.
The JMM also questioned the purpose of the visit of ED officials to Soren’s official residence in Delhi on Monday, when he was scheduled to face questioning by the central agency on January 31.
The agency had questioned Soren on January 20 in connection with a land fraud case and had issued a fresh summons, asking him to confirm his availability for questioning on either January 29 or January 31.
Bhattacharya asked, “When the state chief minister Hemant Soren called the Enforcement Directorate to record his statement on January 31, why did they reach his official residence in Delhi yesterday?” In an email on Sunday, Soren has informed the ED that the agency is available to face questioning on Wednesday at 1 pm at his official residence in Ranchi.
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