"Are We Thieves?": Jharkhand Chief Minister On Probe Agency Summons

Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren skipped the summons by the Enforcement Directorate on Thursday and left for Chhattisgarh's Raipur to attend a dance festival that he said was scheduled a month ago. 

"Are we thieves or anti-socials?" he told NDTV, objecting to what he alleged was short notice from the probe agency to appear for questioning.

"You issue a summons and expect me to appear the next day? I received the invitation for the National Tribal Dance Festival a month ago," the Chief Minister said.

Mr Soren had been asked to appear before the Enforcement Directorate in Ranchi on Thursday for questioning in a mining scam. He addressed workers of his Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) outside his official residence before leaving for Raipur to attend the dance festival.

"If the crime was so serious, they could have directly arrested me," Mr Soren said at the closing ceremony of the festival. "We have a schedule. An assembly session has been called on November 12. Following that, President Droupadi Murmu will visit Jharkhand on November 15 for the statehood day function."

Mr Soren accused the BJP of using central agencies to destabilise his coalition government, which came to power in 2019.

Mr Soren is being investigated in a money laundering probe linked to an illegal mining case in Jharkhand's Sahebganj district. The Jharkhand Chief Minister, who is also in charge of the state mining ministry, is accused of violating election norms by giving himself a mining lease last year. He has denied any wrongdoing and has alleged a larger conspiracy to "harass a tribal leader".