SC to hear Hemant, guv keeps Champai waiting
Jharkhand governor CP Radhakrishnan invited Champai Soren to take oath as the next chief minister, resolving the instability convulsing the state. Champai Soren has been asked to form the government and will take oath tomorrow. Hemant Soren, the former CM who was arrested on money-laundering allegations, approached the Supreme Court for an urgent hearing. Champai Soren said that he has the support of 43 legislators, a majority in the House. The ruling coalition announced that it will shift 43 lawmakers to Hyderabad, but the plan was temporarily shelved due to bad weather.
Jharkhand governor CP Radhakrishnan on Thursday invited Champai Soren, the leader of the state’s ruling coalition, to take oath as the next chief minister in a late-night development that resolved the instability convulsing the state after former CM Hemant Soren’s arrest.
Radhakrishnan called transport minister Champai Soren and Congress legislature party leader Alamgir Alam, and handed over the letter to form the next government.
“They have been asked to form the government. They will take oath tomorrow. The government has been asked to prove a majority in 10 days,” an official said, requesting anonymity.
Hemant Soren, who was sent to one day in judicial custody by a court in Ranchi over money-laundering allegations, also approached the Supreme Court for an urgent hearing. His petition against his arrest by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) will be heard by a three-judge top court bench on Friday morning.
Champai Soren, who was elected the new leader of the ruling coalition on Wednesday hours before Hemant Soren’s arrest, said that he told Radhakrishnan that he enjoyed the support of 43 legislators, a majority in the House with a current strength of 80, with one seat vacant.
The 67-year-old met the governor at 5.30pm, accompanied by Congress leaders Alamgir Alam and Pradeep Yadav, Rashtriya Janata Dal lawmaker Satyanand Bhokta, and Left leader Binod Singh.
He said he had already submitted letters of support. “Our alliance is very strong. No one can break it,” he asserted.
As the state capital remained tense about the government with some leaders from the Bharatiya Janata Party making belligerent comments about the alliance losing a majority in the assembly, the ruling coalition first announced that it will shift 43 lawmakers to Hyderabad.
But the plan was temporarily shelved as fog enveloped the airport, grounding the flight.
“The operation at the airport was disrupted since Thursday morning. The first flight landed at around 12 noon and operation was normal till around 4.30pm after which the weather deteriorated again. The visibility was down to around 200 metres on the runway at around 8.45pm when the minimum requirement is around 1,500 metres,” an airport official said, requesting anonymity.
The JMM released a video in which 43 legislators were present to show the coalition’s strength in the 81-member assembly. One of that 43 was a nominated member with no voting rights, Glen Joseph Galstun. The party said that Champai Soren wrote to Radhakrishnan on Thursday morning saying that he enjoyed the support of 47 lawmakers.
“All 43 MLAs had also come along with me (on Wednesday) but they were made to keep waiting outside Raj Bhavan. I seek appointment along with the legislators for your satisfaction and pave way for installing a popular government in the state,” the letter said.
There were six legislators missing from the video JMM released — Hemant Soren, speaker Rabindranath Mahto, JMM leader Ramdas Soren who is in hospital, Sita Soren, Lobin Hembram and Chamra Linda. Sita Soren is the wife of Durga Soren, Hemant Soren’s elder brother, but expressed her displeasure when Hemant Soren’s wife Kalpana was tipped to succeed him. Hembram and Linda are both JMM members but have made statements against the government over the past few months.
But the BJP raised some questions.
“Jharkhand MLAs are going to Hyderabad by charter plane, this list should be looked at carefully. There are only four MLAs out of 10 passengers, that is, the MLAs are opposing going to Hyderabad. National president of Jharkhand Mukti Morcha Shibu Soren ji does not want to make Champai Soren ji the Chief Minister,” said BJP MP Nishikant Dubey.
The political crisis in the state began on Wednesday night, when ED arrested JMM chief Hemant Soren minutes after he resigned as CM. In a letter addressed to his party’s legislators before his arrest, Hemant Soren confirmed Champai Soren as the new legislature party leader. “If I am arrested, in such a situation, after due consideration, I have decided to nominate Champai Soren as the new leader of the legislature party,” he wrote.
The 48-year-old leader was arrested under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) in connection with ED’s probe into an alleged land scam in the state. ED says it has evidence that Hemant Soren is a 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, who is the third Jharkhand CM to be arrested after his father Shibu Soren and Madhu Koda, dismissed the charges as politically motivated and said details of his assets are public.
In court on Thursday, Jharkhand advocate general Rajiv Ranjan argued that the case was frivolous, and revolved around a piece of land that had no connection to the former CM. “There are no documents to prove his ownership,” Ranjan said.
The law and past precedent say he can ask Champai Soren for a fresh letter of support backing his leadership. Alternatively, he can also tell Champai Soren to prove his majority on the floor of the House, but it could be a contentious directive given that the JMM is, so far, united and the party’s coalition partners have also furnished their support in writing. The Supreme Court’s 2023 judgment in the Shiv Sena case says that the governor must have credible material to substantiate his decision to call for a floor test. The BJP may also move a request in the assembly for a floor test that the speaker — who belongs to the JMM — will take a call on.
Hemant Soren’s troubles began in August last year when the federal financial crimes agency asked to question him. The leader didn’t show up and skipped six subsequent summons, before finally agreeing to being questioned on January 20 this year.
Dramatic scenes unfolded in Delhi and Ranchi this week, after ED swooped in on Hemant Soren’s residence at Shanti Niketan in Delhi and even sent a team to the airport, but failed to locate him. Sleuths were stationed there till at least 10pm on Monday and seized about ₹36 lakh in cash from his Delhi residence, a BMW SUV, and documents.
The developments prompted the BJP to allege that Hemant Soren was absconding in fear. But Hemant Soren — who had landed in Delhi last Friday and was expected to fly out in a chartered plane — drove 1,300km to Ranchi overnight and showed up in the city on Tuesday.
“In a well-planned conspiracy, ED arrested me late in the evening when the courts were closed… a new battle will now have to be fought to save and protect tribals, Dalits and those from the backward classes. I am not worried. I am Shibu Soren’s son, fighting is in our blood,” he said in a video released hours after his arrest.
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