JMM president Hemant Soren was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) officials in the land scam case on Wednesday. The arrest came after seven hours of interrogation at his residence in Ranchi, following which Hemant Soren decided to go to Raj Bhawan and resigned as Jharkhand chief minister.
Meanwhile, MLAs of the ruling JMM-Congress coalition also reached the Governor's House and declared senior JMM leader Champai Soren as the choice for the next Chief Minister of Jharkhand.
“Hemant Soren has resigned from the post of CM…We have the support of 47 MLAs…We have proposed to form a new government. Champai Soren will be our new CM…We were not given time to take oath…” said Jharkhand MLA Alamgir Alam.
The chief minister's resignation and his subsequent arrest came after a tense drama as ED was earlier scheduled to question Hemant Soren in Delhi, but fearing his impending arrest, the JMM leader decided to take a 1,200 km road trip to Ranchi.
Around 1 pm on Wednesday, the ED reached Hemant Soren's residence in Ranchi for questioning in the land scam case. Ahead of the federal agency's interrogation, the JMM leader chaired the meeting of ruling coalition MLAs, reinforcing speculation about his arrest.
After seven hours of questioning, two minibuses of JMM-Congress MLA reached Raj Bhawan, followed by Hemant Soren with the Enforcement Directorate team. The JMM leader submitted his resignation to the Jharkhand Governor, while the JMM-Congress coalition declared Champai Soren as the next chief minister.
Governor refuses to meet JMM Congress MLAs
Developments in Jharkhand will be closely monitored as things are changing every minute. Earlier, the Jharkhand Governor refused to meet the JMM Congress MLAs, who reached Raj Bhawan to formally announce Champai Soren as the leader of the House.
The MLAs expressed their frustration after coming out of Raj Bhawan and even questioned the governor's intentions.
“We have proposed to form the government under the leadership of Champai Soren. We have 47 MLAs and we should be allowed to form the government… The governor said he will check our papers and call us…” Alamgir Alam said .
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Published: Jan 31, 2024 10:02 PM IST