Security was beefed up around Jharkhand chief minister Hemant Soren's house on Wednesday as ED officials started arriving to question him in connection with a land scam case. Ahead of the questioning which was scheduled at 1pm, the JMM (Jharkhand Mukti Morcha) held a show of strength with the MLAs assembling at the CM's residence on Kanke Road. Section 144 was imposed in the area around CM's residence, apprehending a law and order disruption later in the day if Hemant Soren is arrested.
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Hemant Soren being questioned by ED: What's next?
1. The Jharkhand government has constituted a three-member team headed by the secretary of the finance department to ensure law and order in the state, given the ED questioning of CM Hemant Soren.
2. The ED reportedly sought security for today's questioning as there was a huge protest on January 20 when Hemant Soren was interrogated on January 20. He was interrogated for around seven hours on that day but the questioning did not complete.
Amid ED searches, Soren took 1,300km road trip to Ranchi
3. The party has prepared for all contingencies -- for a situation that will arise if Hemant Soren is arrested today.
{{/usCountry}}3. The party has prepared for all contingencies -- for a situation that will arise if Hemant Soren is arrested today.
{{/usCountry}}4. According to reports, Hemant Soren's wife Kalpana Soren is the first choice to be the next chief minister. JMM MLA Sarfaraz Ahmad resigned from his seat earlier this month probably making way for Kalpana.
5. On Wednesday morning, Hemant Soren met his father Shibu Soren ahead of the questioning.
6. The Jharkhand political crisis turned interesting after the ED officials reached Hemant Soren's Delhi residence on Monday and did not find him there. The BJP announced Hemant Soren as 'fugitive' as the chief minister was incommunicado for around 30 hours. On Tuesday, Hemant Soren reached Ranchi by car while he went to Delhi in a chartered plane.
7. On Tuesday night, Hemant Soren held two meetings of the JMM and alliance leaders. The MLAs reportedly signed a letter of support without any name as speculations are rife that the chief minister's wife Kalpana Soren will be handed over the reins in the event of his arrest, PTI reported.
8. On the speculations over Kalpana Soren, JMM MP Mahua Maji said no such situation will arise. "You can see how the Central Government and BJP are hatching a conspiracy to destabilise & topple governments and form their own government in non-BJP ruled states. So, the party is prepared to face and tackle all conspiracies. But no such situation will arise as all the MLAs in the alliance are united. Hemant Soren will be the CM...We are hearing it from the media," Maji said.
9. On Monday, ED seized two BMW cars with Haryana registration numbers and ₹36 lakh from his Delhi residence. JMM leaders said ₹36 lakh is not a huge amount to be recovered from the residence of a party chief.
10. BJP MP Nishikant Dubey said Hemant Soren was trying to pressure and intimidate the judges of the Jharkhand high court to avoid the questioning of the ED.