On Monday, February 5, the Champai Soren-led Jharkhand government won the floor test in the state assembly with 47 coalition MLAs supporting Soren during the trust vote; the opposition, on the other hand, received 29 votes in its support, while independent Saryu Roy abstained from voting. Two MLAs from BJP and JMM, Indrajit Mahto and Ramdas Soren, respectively, could not attend due to health issues.
JMM Party leader had taken the oath as the new Jharkhand CM on February 2, after Hemant Soren was arrested by the ED in a money laundering case last week.
As the members of the assembly came together for the day, they gave a grand welcome to Hemant Soren, and he was greeted with slogans like, ‘Jai Jharkhand’, ‘Hemant Soren Zindabad’, ‘Shibu Soren Zindabad’, and ‘Jail ka Phatak Tutega, Hemant Soren Chhutega.’
Taking part in the confidence motion, Hemant Soren used the assembly’s platform to speak his mind, as he has been restricted from speaking with the media, as per the directions of the judiciary. ‘If any agency can prove that I have owned that 8.5-acre land plot as accused by the ED, I am ready to quit politics, and leave Jharkhand forever.’
Further, Hemant accused the BJP of not tolerating tribals, Dalits, and minorities anywhere in the country, and describing it as a conspiracy, he stated, ‘Not a single tribal chief minister could complete his five-year term in a state.’
‘January 31 was a black chapter in India’s history. A chief minister was arrested at the behest of the Raj Bhavan. The BJP does not want a tribal CM to complete 5 years in Jharkhand; they did not allow this even in their regimes.’, added Soren.
The now arrested former chief minister of Jharkhand was allowed by a special PMLA court to participate in the trust vote.
