Jharkhand: Champai Soren-led govt's floor test on Monday, Hemant Soren can take part

Jharkhand trust vote: The coalition government in Jharkhand, under the leadership of Champai Soren, will seek a vote of confidence on February 5, three days after Soren took oath as the Chief Minister. The resolution was passed during the inaugural cabinet assembly held by Chief Minister Champai Soren. The Advocate general on Saturday told India Today that Hemant Soren can granted permission to participate in the Jharkhand trust vote.

Hemant Soren, who was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate on Wednesday in a money laundering case, filed a petition before the special PMLA (Prevention of Money Laundering Act) court, seeking permission to participate in the trust vote sought by the new Champai Soren government. 

Champai Soren, 67, was elected leader of Jharkhand’s ruling coalition hours before Hemant Soren’s arrest. Champai Soren was sworn in alongside two other members — Alamgir Alam from the Congress and Satyanand Bhokta from the Rashtriya Janata Dal. 

The political drama in Jharkhand has shifted to Hyderabad after nearly 40 MLAs of the ruling Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM)-led alliance were flown to Hyderabad, amid fears that the BJP may attempt to "poach" them in the run-up to a trust vote.

Hemant Soren was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate at 10 pm on Wednesday, minutes after his resignation. In a letter addressed to his party’s legislators before his arrest, Hemant Soren confirmed transport minister Champai Soren as the new legislature party leader.

He was remanded to ED custody for five days by the court on Friday. The ED has claimed it has evidence of Hemant Soren being the key beneficiary in alleged land-related irregularities in Ranchi, where a network of brokers and businessmen were allegedly working over the years to create fake deeds of landed parcels by forging records in the registrar offices and further selling them off.

Hemant Soren has denied the charges against him, saying that the ED is accusing him of something that is not related to him. "They are accusing me of something that is not at all related to me. They are accusing me of land scam but that land never gets sold. They did not find any evidence against me. They raided in Delhi and found nothing. Today they came and spent the entire day questioning. They know that courts are shut in the evening and hence they announce their decision to arrest me in the evening,"  he said.

Also read: Supreme Court asks Hemant Soren to approach High Court instead