n Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren on Thursday skipped summons issued by the Enforcement Directorate to face questioning in connection with a case of illegal mining and dared the agency to arrest him if he has committed any crime instead of sending summonses.
Soren has sought three weeks time to appear before the agency for questioning in the money laundering case. The ED may issue him a fresh date.
Soren expressed his inability to appear before the agency on Thursday citing official commitments, they said. Later in the day, Soren left for Chhattisgarh to attend a “pre-scheduled” tribal programme.
The ED had asked Soren, also the executive president of the ruling JMM, to appear for questioning at its regional office in Ranchi at 11 am but he did not obey the summons. Addressing party supporters later near his residence, Soren said, “The ED has summoned me following a conspiracy. Come and arrest me if I have committed a crime instead of sending summonses for questioning. I am neither afraid nor worried. Rather I am emerging stronger. If people of Jharkhand wish, opponents will not find a place to hide,” he said. Wondering why security at the offices of ED and BJP was increased, he asked if they were scared of Jharkhandis.
He told the gathering that he will fly to Raipur, the capital of neighbouring Chhattisgarh, to attend a “Tribal Mahotsav” during the day, for which he had received an invitation earlier. The Chief Minister reached th evenue in the evening.
During his address to party workers here, the CM alleged that the BJP is making attempts to destabilise his democratically elected Government by misusing Central agencies ever since it was voted to power. “We have identified outsider gangs operating in the State, who are not letting the State’s Adivasis stand on their feet. This State will be ruled by Jharkhandis and not by external forces,” Soren said.
He appealed to the tribal voters in poll-bound Gujarat to abstain from voting for the BJP. Launching a scathing attack on the BJP, he claimed that the saffron party was not able to digest the people’s mandate given to a party dominated by tribals and locals, and resorted to “politics of terror” by unleashing Central agencies. “They (BJP) possess a feudal mentality and cannot see tribals, Dalits and oppressed (people) growing,” the JMM leader said. Soren alleged that the present dispensation at the Centre was of traders who believed only in taking, not giving. Claiming that whenever the State demanded its dues from the Centre, it got ED, CBI and court cases in return, he warned of severe consequences if his democratically elected Government is toppled. Soren exuded confidence that his Government will complete its five-year term. The CM also took a jibe at Governor Ramesh Bais for not making public the content of the Election Commission’s letter to Raj Bhavan on an office-of-profit case against him. Soren faces the threat of losing his membership of the Assembly in the case.
He alleged that the Governor is possessing envelope for over two months creating a state of confusion.
In a tweet, he said, “The time has come to give a befitting reply to the political conspiracy of the Opposition.”
Soren on Thursday termed the Enforcement Directorate’s summons to him as a “weapon” used by the BJP to target him and said if he has committed a serious offence then he should be directly arrested.
Queried about his no-show before the ED, Soren said, “Do you think we are ‘chor-uchakke’ (thief-miscreants) or ‘hatyare’ (murderer)? They issued the summons yesterday (Wednesday) and asked me to appear today (Thursday). Don’t we have our engagements? I got an invitation to attend the tribal dance festival (in Raipur) a month ago and my programme was already fixed.”