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Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren on Friday replied to ECI notice in the office of profit matter in which the poll body had sought an explanation from him as to why he should not be disqualified from office.
The matter pertains to the allotment of the stone mine lease in his favour in the Angara block of Ranchi. The poll panel had issued notice to Soren last month asking him to explain why action should not be taken against him for having a mining lease issued in his favour which "prima facie violates" provisions concerning the Representation of People's Act. The. ECI had asked him to reply by May 10. The Chief Minister had on May 9 sought a four-week extension of time from the Election Commission on the grounds that his mother was unwell and undergoing treatment. The poll panel extended the time period for the reply by 10 days. Earlier in a letter addressed to secretary ECI, Soren had denied all the charges against him. "At the outset, I deny and dispute all allegations of the BJP about my alleged disqualification for being a member of the Jharkhand Legislative Assembly on the ground of a mining lease, obtained by me in May 2021, under the said section 9A of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, or any other ground whatsoever." (ANI)
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