Basant Soren, brother of Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren, is MLA from Dumka
Amid hectic political developments in Jharkhand, Chief Minister Hemant Soren has a new task at hand, thanks to a controversial statement by his brother and MLA Basant Soren.
Mr Soren is MLA from Dumka, which is on the boil following the rape and murder of two girls.
Back from a Delhi trip, Mr Soren met the families of the girls. Asked the reason for his Delhi visit, he told the media that he "had run out of undergarments".
"I had run out of undergarments, so I went to Delhi to purchase them. I get them from there," he said, smiling. In the video clip, tweeted by news agency ANI, Mr Soren admitted that there was some political unrest in the state, but stressed that the situation is stable now.
The comment drew sharp reactions from Opposition leaders.
Nishikant Dubey, BJP MP from Godda and the party's prominent face in Jharkhand.
Taking a swipe at the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) MLA, he tweeted in Hindi, "The son of Shibu Soren, leader of the poor and tribals, goes to Delhi to buy undergarments." The BJP MP said this is why the MLA could not meet the victims' families.
Several others on social media have flagged the bizarre remark and slammed the legislator.
Jharkhand is in the middle of a political unrest as Chief Minister Soren may be disqualified for granting a mining lease to himself while in office. Mr Soren has, however, won a test of strength in Assembly and proved that he still enjoys the support of the majority of MLAs.
The Chief Minister has accused the BJP of trying to destabilise his government. Mr Soren has alleged that Governor Ramesh Bias is delaying action on the Election Commission's recommendations to encourage defection of MLAs.