Amid intense political activity in Jharkhand, a special Ranchi court on Saturday allowed former chief minister Hemant Soren to participate in the floor test on 5 February, which will seal the fate of newly appointed CM Champai Soren. Jharkhand Advocate General Rajiv Ranjan said that the Enforcement Directorate vehemently objected to any such permission to Hemant Soren, but the court allowed the JMM chief to participate in the process.
“Now the cat is out of the bag. The purpose of arresting Hemant Soren was to bring down the government by not allowing one MLA to participate in the floor test voting. The entire exercise is malafide which has been our stand from the very beginning,” the advocate general said.
Jharkhand political crisis: 10 points
1. The court’s permission to Hemant Soren comes as a fresh boost to the JMM-Congress coalition in Jharkhand, who have alleged that the BJP is trying to poach their MLAs.
2. After swearing Champai Soren as the chief minister of Jharkhand, Governor C. P. Radhakrishnan gave him 10 days to prove his majority in the Assembly, but the JMM called for a vote on 5 February, as the party didn’t want to risk losing its MLAs.
3. “We were given 10 days to prove the government’s majority. We can’t take any chance during the period as the BJP might try to contact our MLAs,” a senior party leader said.
4. Hemant Soren approached the court seeking permission to vote in the floor test which is crucial for the political stability in the state.
5. “Applicant (Soren) is, therefore, filing the present Application seeking an order from this Hon’ble Court to permit the Applicant to attend the Special Session of the Jharkhand Legislative Assembly and participate in the proceedings of the Floor Test slated for February 5 at 11 AM,” the petition said.
6. The ED argued against the plea, but the court allowed the JMM leader to vote in the floor test. “Our petition has been allowed,” Rajiv Ranjan said.
7. In the 81-member Jharkhand assembly, the JMM has the highest 29 seats, while the BJP has 26. Hemant Soren came to power with the support of Congress, which has 17 seats, and RJD and the CPI (ML), who have 1 seat each. The magic number is 41.
8. The Congress is also securing its MLAs from the poaching attempts and the party has manned the resort with police personnel. Separate dining arrangements have been made for the MLAs.
9. Hemant Soren approached the Supreme Court on Friday challenging his arrest by ED, but the apex court rejected his plea and asked the JMM leader to approach the Jharkhand High Court.
10. “The Supreme Court did not even hear our case. It could have first heard the case and then told us to go to the high court,” senior advocate Kapil Sibal said. “Now 10 more baseless cases will now be added on Hemant Soren ji so that he does not come out and the BJP reaps the benefits in the 2024 Lok Sabha election,” he added.
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Published: 03 Feb 2024, 06:28 PM IST