Jharkhand's political temperature is high in the harsh winter. ED has arrested Hemant Soren in the alleged land scam. Earlier, Hemant Soren had resigned from the post of Chief Minister to the Governor. ED arrested him only after his resignation.
Amidst all this drama, the political crisis is also increasing. Actually, Governor CP Radhakrishnan has accepted the resignation of Hemant Soren, but the new Chief Minister Champai Soren has not yet taken the oath of office.
8 hours of interrogation, resignation and arrest…
– Inquiry: The ED team reached Hemant Soren's residence in Ranchi at 1:15 pm on Wednesday afternoon. Here he was interrogated for 8 hours regarding his role in the alleged land scam.
– Resignation: Hemant Soren reached Raj Bhavan around 8.30 pm. During this time the ED team was also present. Soren submitted his resignation to the Governor. The Governor has accepted his resignation.
– Arrest: After submitting his resignation to the Governor, Hemant Soren reached his residence. Here the ED arrested him at 9.33 pm.
Resignation, but will remain acting CM
Hemant Soren has definitely resigned from the post of Chief Minister, but he is still the acting CM. Constitutional expert PDT Achari said that after the resignation of the Chief Minister, he remains the acting CM until the new Chief Minister takes oath.
He told that according to the Constitution this post should not remain vacant. Hemant Soren has been arrested by ED, but he can remain the acting CM. This is the decision of the Governor. Until another CM comes to this post, the CM who resigns will remain the acting CM.
What is mathematics in assembly?
JMM alliance government currently has majority in Jharkhand Assembly. 41 seats are needed for majority in the 81-seat assembly. The alliance has a majority of 49 MLAs.
Jharkhand Mukti Morcha has 29 MLAs, Congress 16, NCP, RJD and Left parties have one MLA each.
JMM MLA Alamgir Alam told the news agency that we have staked claim to form the government under the leadership of Champai Soren. We have the support of 47 MLAs and we should be allowed to form the government.
What will President's rule look like?
Jharkhand Mukti Morcha was adamant on taking oath of new Chief Minister Champai Soren on Wednesday itself. However, the Governor did not allow this. In such a situation, a new constitutional crisis also seems to be arising.
Governor CP Radhakrishnan had recently said that as the protector of the Constitution, I am keeping an eye on the entire situation. This is the governor's job, I am doing the same. If necessary I will cross the limit. After this statement of the Governor, the chances of imposition of President's rule after the arrest of the CM had increased.
What next in the matter?
– Hearing in High Court: Hemant Soren has filed a writ petition in the Jharkhand High Court against the arrest. The bench of High Court Acting Chief Justice S Chandrashekhar and Justice Anubha Rawat Chaudhary will hear this petition at 10.30 am.
– Soren's appearance in court: After being arrested, Hemant Soren will remain in the ED office throughout the night. He will be presented in the court on Thursday. It is being told that ED may ask for 14 days custody of Hemant Soren.
Finally know – why the arrest?
Hemant Soren has been arrested in the alleged land scam. This entire matter is related to buying and selling of land through fake papers and documents.
This matter came to light in June 2022. Then an FIR was registered in Baraitu police station. The allegation was that a person named Pradeep Bagchi had grabbed a property of the Indian Army through fake documents. When ED investigated it, it was found that this 4.5 acre land belonged to BM Laxman Rao, who had handed it over to the army after independence.
In April 2023, ED arrested seven accused including Pradeep Bagchi in the case. Of the seven who were arrested, two – Afsar Ali and Bhanu Pratap – were government employees. Afsar Ali is a Grade-3 employee in the government hospital, while Bhanu Pratap was a Revenue Sub-Inspector. All the rest were associated with the land mafia and were involved in the sale of lands through fake documents.
Last year itself, on May 4, ED also arrested IAS officer Chhavi Ranjan. Chhavi Ranjan was Deputy Commissioner in Ranchi for two years. The allegation against him is that while holding this post, he had allegedly helped in illegal purchase and sale of land.
During investigation, ED found out that a fake document was made. It was shown to be from 1932. It was written in it that Prafulla Bagchi had purchased this land from the government. After 90 years, in 2021, Prafulla Bagchi's son Pradeep Bagchi sold this land to Jagatbandhu Tea Estate Limited of Kolkata.
In this case, ED has claimed to have dozens of land deals. ED has so far seized land worth more than Rs 236 crore. ED has so far arrested 14 accused in the case. Among the accused is also a person named Prem Prakash, who is considered close to Hemant Soren.
