The ED has been sending summons to Soren in connection with an alleged money laundering case, and he has repeatedly refused to appear before the agency.
Champai Soren, the current transport minister, will be the next chief minister of Jharkhand. Hemant Soren has resigned as the chief minister and he is likely to be arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in connection with a land scam case. To subscribe please click tau.id/2iy6f and access our live channel.
Hemant Soren, along with MLAs of all ruling alliances, has arrived at Raj Bhawan in Ranchi. The Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) has 29 MLAs while Congress has 16. The NCP, the Left, and RJD have one 1 MLA each.
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The Jharkhand (former) Chief Minister and head of the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM), resigned on Wednesday night after more than six hours of questioning by the Enforcement Directorate over ownership of a piece of land.
He met the Governor while in ED custody and submitted his resignation. Jharkhand Congress president Rajesh Thakur said, “CM Hemant Soren has decided to resign. Champai Soren has been chosen as the new leader of the Legislative party… All the MLAs are with us…” The JMM and Congress are allies in the state.
Speculation was rife since around 5.30 pm, when two mini-buses were seen going inside CM’s residence. Half an hour later, Chief Secretary L Khyangate and DGP Ajay Kumar Singh also arrived at his residence. Champai Soren is the sitting MLA from the Seraikella assembly seat, which is part of the Singhbhum Lok Sabha constituency.
Hemant soren, meanwhile, has been questioned thrice so far: The first was in November 2021 in ED’s illegal mining case. The second and the third summons – on January 20 and 31 respectively – pertain to the alleged proceeds of crime emanating from the illegal sale and purchase of land in Ranchi in which IAS officer Chhavi Ranjan is also an accused.
