Jharkhand CM Hemant Soren ignores ED summons, seeks 3 weeks for appearance

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, November 3

Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren today skipped the summons issued by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) for questioning in connection with a money laundering case linked to alleged illegal mining.

Arrest me, dares Jharkhand CM

The Enforcement Directorate has summoned me following a conspiracy. Come and arrest me if I have committed a crime instead of sending summons for questioning. -- Hemant Soren, Jharkhand chief minister

He cited prior engagement in Chhattisgarh as the reason for skipping the summons. The Chief Minister, however, sought three weeks to appear before the federal probe agency, sources said.

The ED had asked Soren to appear for questioning at its regional office in Ranchi at 11 am today.

Addressing Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) supporters near his residence, Soren said: “The ED has summoned me following a conspiracy. Come and arrest me if I have committed a crime instead of sending summons for questioning.

“I am neither afraid nor worried. Rather I am emerging stronger. If people of Jharkhand wish, opponents will not find a place to hide,” he said.

Soren told the gathering that he would fly to Raipur, the capital of neighbouring Chhattisgarh, to attend a “Tribal Mahotsav” during the day, for which he had received an invitation earlier.

The Chief Minister reached the venue in the evening.

During his address to party workers, the Chief Minister alleged that the BJP was making attempts to destabilise his democratically elected government by misusing central agencies ever since it was voted to power.

“We have identified outsider gangs operating in the state. They are not letting the state’s tribals stand on their feet. This state will be ruled by Jharkhandis and not by external forces,” Soren said.

He appealed to the tribal voters in poll-bound Gujarat to abstain from voting for the BJP.

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