ET had reported that the Election Commission (EC) had sought documents related to a stone chips mining allocation to the CM himself while he held the charge of the mining ministry. Opposition BJP has alleged that Soren must face an office of profit case, while the CM has maintained silence on the issue. He has asked party leaders and his close aides to be prepared for a legal battle and fight it out, according to the people cited earlier.
Ruling Jharkhand Mukti Morcha’s leaders claim that since the mining lease has been cancelled, there are no grounds for a case of office of profit. On Monday senior JMM leaders met governor Ramesh Bais and submitted a letter claiming that the matter of office of profit doesn’t arise in the present case. “We requested the governor that he should also send our letter to the EC as he did with the letter given by the BJP leaders,” JMM general secretary Supriyo Bhattacharya told ET.
BJP leaders said the party realises that Soren is on the backfoot, but it doesn’t want to rush the matter. They said if the EC recommends his disqualification as a member of the assembly or further bars him from contesting election for a certain period, the BJP will plan as per the situation. State BJP leaders also said that with Soren in trouble, other JMM MLAs and leaders may look outside and that then the BJP will take a call. The central party leadership is in touch with state leaders Babulal Marandi and Raghubar Das.
Marandi was in Delhi recently, but he didn’t meet party leadership. BJP leaders said there is no question of forming a government with Soren. The party believes it is benefitting from the developments in the state and it is in a comfortable position to form a government on its own in 2024 or if an election takes place before that. As of now, its aim is to keep mounting the pressure on Soren, his family and close aides, raising issues of alleged corruption.
On Monday Raghubar Das briefed the media with a fresh set of allegations of land allotment to Kalpana Soren, the CM’s wife, in the industrial area at a time when the CM held the charge of industry ministry. JMM leaders said the party will give a detailed statement on Tuesday.
