"Is BJP Spotless?": Jharkhand's Hemant Soren On Central Agency Cases "Only Against Rivals"

Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren, a day after he was questioned by central agency ED for nine hours over money laundering charges, termed the action against him "an attempt to suppress the tribal, Dalit, backward communities and minorities".

"Are all BJP governments absolutely spotless? Action is taken only against those in opposing . This is just a political conspiracy. But remember, Bhagwan Birsa Munda did not bow to the British. This won't work," Mr Soren, who comes from a tribal community, told supporters at a 'Jan Aakrosh Rally', citing the heroism of a 19th-century tribal leader.

"We have no problem with investigating agencies, but the way action is being taken against the governments of only non-BJP states - be it in Telangana, Kerala, Bengal, Bihar - these agencies should also answer if only the BJP's governments are all clean and spotless," he told supporters at a 'Jan Aakrosh Rally', accusing the Centre's ruling BJP of "a conspiracy".

"Our rivals have been conspiring to topple the (Jharkhand Mukti Morcha-Congress) government ever since we came to power (in 2019)," Mr Soren said.

He reiterated what he has told the ED, too, that the charges of a "Rs 1,000-crore scam in stone mining" are "not even plausible".

"They think I am going to flee the country," he said about being summoned for questioning, "History has no instance of a politician running away like that. But businesspeople have taken crores of people's and banks' money, and left the country."

The central agency summoned Mr Soren in connection with its probe into alleged money laundering and illegal mining in the state, on the basis of an FIR filed against Pankaj Mishra, a political aide of Mr Soren. Mr Mishra has already been arrested besides two others, Bachhu Yadav and Prem Prakash.

The ED says it has "identified" Rs 1,000 crore as "proceeds of crime relating to illegal mining".