Jharkhand chief minister Hemant Soren on Wednesday met legislators of the ruling United Progressive Alliance (UPA) at his Ranchi residence hours after the Enforcement Directorate (ED) summoned him for questioning on November 3 in a money laundering case linked to alleged illegal mining in the state.
Later, minister Banna Gupta said the chief minister is taking advice on the summons.
Here are the top developments of the day in the eastern state:
- Gupta said Soren has an event in Raipur on Thursday after which a decision will be taken if the CM will go to meet officials of the federal agency. "We are law-abiding people,” Gupta was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.
- Soren, 47, has been asked to appear before the federal probe agency at its regional office in the Hinoo area of the state capital Ranchi at 11 am on Thursday.
- Officials said Soren will attend the special session of the Jharkhand Assembly on November 11. A spokesperson said the government will try to pass locality bill in the special session.
- The ED said it wants to question and record the statement of the chief minister under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
{{/usCountry}}- The ED said it wants to question and record the statement of the chief minister under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
{{/usCountry}}- Alleging that the BJP is ''misusing'' institutions as it cannot face him politically, Soren said, "We have also been called on the request of our Opposition. An attempt has been made to show how powerful the ED is... the people will give them the answer for every conspiracy,'' the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha leader wrote on Twitter.
- "The purpose behind attempts to harass me is to debar Dalits, Adivasis, backwards and minorities from their rights. (However,) no conspiracy will work when crores of people are behind you," Soren wrote in another tweet.
- Later, addressing an event at Sahibganj, Soren said the BJP has a 'feudal mentality' which cannot think about the oppressed.
- Soren also hit out at Jharkhand governor Ramesh Bais saying he held back an an envelope for the last 2-3 months. "He doesn't open it but talks about dropping a bomb which is a conspiracy." Bais recently said "an atom bomb can explode any time in Jharkhand", apparently indicating his pending decision on an office of profit case against Soren.
- The ED had earlier arrested Soren's political aide Pankaj Mishra and two others -- local muscleman Bachhu Yadav and Prem Prakash -- in this case.
The agency said it had "identified" proceeds of crime relating to illegal mining in the state to the tune of more than ₹1,000 crore till now.
- In its charge sheet, the ED said it had recovered "a sealed envelope containing a passbook and two cheque books containing two signed cheques, all pertaining to A/c...in the name of Shri Hemant Soren held with Bank of India, Sahibganj".
(With inputs)