"Corrupt leaders like Hemant Soren belong in jail": BJP MP takes hit at Jharkhand CM over land scam

In a sharp response to Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) leader Hemant Soren, Jharkhand BJP MP Prakash said, "Hemant Soren in his 4 years of governance as Chief Minister looted Jharkhand and did corruption. As far as the question of the land scam, on 19 Oct 2022, I exposed it in front of everyone from the medium of press conference."

Reacting to Soren's resignation as Jharkhand CM, the BJP leader said, "The Chief Minister who looted the Army's land had to resign. Whoever is corrupt and does corruption will have to go to jail."

"The people of the country want the country to be corruption-free. The people of Jharkhand also want to be free from corruption. Leaders like Soren belong in jail," Prakash told ANI.

Taking to his social media handle, Prakash posted, "I had exposed the army land scam on 19 October 2022 itself, the result of which is now in front of everyone and Chief Minister Hemant Soren is in the grip of the law. The law has a long arm and no corrupt person can escape from it. Zero tolerance for corruption is Modi's guarantee."

After a prolonged moment of speculation in the media and a hide-and-seek drama, Jharkhand Chief Minister and Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) Chairperson Hemant Soren got arrested by the Directorate of Enforcement (ED) in the land scam case on Wednesday night, sources confirmed.

Earlier on Wednesday evening, JMM Chief Hemant Soren met Governor CP Radhakrishnan at Raj Bhawan and handed over his resignation after over six hours of questioning by the ED in connection with a money laundering probe linked to the alleged land scam case.

Meanwhile, opposition parties hit out over Hemant Soren's arrest.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi targeted the central agencies and said that they have become BJP's 'eliminate opposition cell.

"ED, CBI, IT etc. are no longer government agencies, now they have become BJP's 'eliminate opposition cell'. The BJP itself, steeped in corruption, is running a campaign to destroy democracy in its obsession with power," posted Rahul Gandhi on X.

Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge also reacted on the same and said that forcing Hemant Soren to resign is a blow to Federalism.

Meanwhile, Jharkhand Transport Minister Champai Soren, who was named as JMM legislative party leader, wrote a letter to Governor CP Radhakrishnan, staking a claim to form the new government in the state.

Champai Soren, the state transport minister, is a seven-time MLA and he represents the Seraikella constituency in Jharkhand. Before joining the JMM, he was an independent MLA.

According to the ED, CM Soren was questioned as a part of the probe into the 'huge racket of illegal change of ownership of land by the mafia'.

The probe pertains to huge amounts of proceeds of crime generated by forging official records by showing 'fake sellers' and purchasers in the guise of forged or bogus documents to acquire huge parcels of land having value in crores. (ANI)