Jharkhand CM Soren accuses BJP of “humilating” judiciary

New Delhi [India], July 13 (ANI): Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren on Saturday accused the ruling BJP of humiliating the judiciary and hoped that Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, who was in judicial custody in the excise policy case, would come out of Jail soon.

The chief minister was talking to reporters after meeting Congress leader Sonia Gandhi at her residence, 10 Janpath, in Delhi.

“I hadn’t met Sonia Gandhi after coming out of jail; that is why I came to meet her. Discussions for the Jharkhand Assembly elections will continue… Indians are very tolerant and cooperative. They tolerate a lot until they cannot and then they make themselves heard by voting. The BJP has humiliated the judiciary. I hope Arvind Kejriwal will be granted bail soon,” Soren said.

Kejriwal got interim bail from the Supreme Court on Friday in money laundering charges linked to the excise policy case. But he could not come out of jail as he was separately arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) under the Prevention of Corruption Act in connection with the same case on June 25. He is under remand till July 25 in the CBI case.

Hemant Soren was released from the Birsa Munda Jail on June 28 after nearly five months following bail from Jharkhand High Court in a money laundering case linked to an alleged land scam.

On July 8, days after he was sworn in as the Chief Minister of Jharkhand for the third time, Soren won the floor test during a special session of the state assembly.

Hemant Soren won the vote of trust with the votes of 45 MLAs in his favour.

He had resigned as Chief Minister before his arrest on January 31. He was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in January on charges related to an alleged land scam and money laundering.

Earlier in a video message Hemant Soren had accused the BJP of leveling false allegations against him.

“In the 2019 Jharkhand Assembly Elections, the people of Jharkhand gave our party mandate but the conspirators were unable to digest how an Adivasi youngster can sit in such a high position. At last, on January 31, they (the BJP) made false allegations against me and removed me from the post of Chief Minister. Because of the people’s blessings, I’m out here sitting in front of you. We will always be the voice of the people. Today, the public opinion of the people of Jharkhand will rise again. By taking charge, the work will be carried out again,”

Hemant Soren’s return as CM will bolster the JMM, which won three seats in the tribal-dominated state of Jharkhand in the Lok Sabha elections.

In 2019, JMM fought the assembly elections in alliance with the Congress and Lalu Prasad’s Rashtriya Janta Dal (RJD) and got a comfortable majority with forty-seven seats in the 81-member house.