New Delhi: Hemant Soren took oath as Jharkhand chief minister today (July 4), less than a week after he was granted bail in an alleged case of money laundering and in which he was arrested in January.
A bearded Soren was administered his oath by the state’s governor, C.P. Radhakrishnan.
This is the third time Soren has taken charge as Jharkhand CM. The first was in 2014 after a period of political uncertainty in the state, and the second was after assembly elections in 2019, which his Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) party won in alliance with the Congress and the Rashtriya Janata Dal.
Soren resigned just before his arrest by the Enforcement Directorate on January 31 this year. He feared the Union government may impose President’s Rule in Jharkhand if he was arrested while in office on the pretext of the failure of the state’s constitutional machinery.
Champai Soren then staked claim to form a new government and took oath as Jharkhand CM two days later.
He resigned from his post yesterday after Hemant Soren led a meeting of JMM and allied INDIA bloc legislators met in Ranchi and reportedly agreed to make Hemant Soren chief minister again.
“I have resigned as per the decision of the JMM-led alliance. Our alliance is strong,” PTI quoted Champai Soren as saying yesterday.
He added to say that everyone knew “what had happened with Hemant Soren ji … I was given the responsibility by the coalition partners. Now, the alliance has decided in favour of Hemant Soren ji.”
On June 28, the Jharkhand high court said Hemant Soren was, on the face of it, not guilty of money laundering in the concerned case, his lawyer then told PTI. He was enlarged on bail.
Soren is accused of buying a piece of land in Ranchi through the proceeds of an illegal property sale.
His release on bail is a shot in the arm for the opposition INDIA bloc. Assembly elections are due in Jharkhand later this year.
Among Jharkhand’s tribal population, his arrest led to significant anti-BJP sentiments ahead of the general elections, The Wire had reported.
