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Soren gave himself mine lease in Ranchi, must quit: BJP
Jharkhand’s former chief minister Raghubar Das on Thursday demanded the resignation of his successor Hemant Soren, who he accused of misusing his office to get an in-principle approval for stone quarrying lease in his name on a government land on the outskirts of the state capital, which was cleared by the mines department headed by Soren himself.
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Jharkhand’s former chief minister Raghubar Das on Thursday demanded the resignation of his successor Hemant Soren, who he accused of misusing his office to get an in-principle approval for stone quarrying lease in his name on a government land on the outskirts of the state capital, which was cleared by the mines department headed by Soren himself.
Addressing reporters at state BJP office here, Das, who is national vice-president of his party, alleged that Soren has violated the code of conduct meant for the office of CM and ministers, besides having committed a criminal offence under Prevention of Corruption Act, by getting a mine lease while he is the CM and also heads the department concerned.
“Hemant Soren has been holding the chair of CM for over two years and is functioning as a public servant. It is surprising that the mines department headed by himself issues a letter of interest (LOI) and then clears the mining plan and an associate department gives nod over environmental impact assessment. This is a clear case of corruption,” said Das, sharing copies of the official communication on the matter in 2021 with reporters.
“It’s violation of section 7 of the Prevention of Corruption Act and section 169 of the Indian Penal Code. The mine in question is on government land and granting its lease to a serving CM is illegal. This is also a violation of the section 9 of the Representation of People’s Act and Article 19 (A) of the Constitution. Hence, Hemant Soren should be disqualified (as an MLA),” he said.
The BJP leader said a party delegation will soon meet the Governor on the issue.
Supriyo Bhattacharya, principal general secretary and spokesperson of Soren’s party Jharkhand Mukti Morcha, said they would officially respond to the charges on Friday. “We will respond only after seeing the documents and taking legal opinion on the issue,” he said.
