Hemant Soren's wife may take over as Jharkhand Chief Minister: BJP's big claim

BJP leader Nishikant Dubey on Monday said that Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren's wife may take over his post, adding that Soren had called his supporters from his party JMM and other allied MLAs to reach Ranchi with their "luggage and bags".

The BJP leader's statement comes after Enforcement Directorate officials on Monday visited Soren's house to question him in connection with a money laundering investigation in an alleged land fraud case and camped there for over 13 hours.

In a post on X, Dubey wrote, "Hemant Soren has called his i.e. JMM, Congress and allied MLAs to Ranchi with luggage and bags. According to the information, there is a proposal to make Kalpana Soren the Chief Minister. The Chief Minister has informed that due to fear of questioning by ED, he is on the road and will announce his arrival after reaching Ranchi."

Dubey further said that Soren "feared" being questioned by the Enforcement Directorate (ED).

Notably, Hemant Soren had left Ranchi for Delhi on January 27, with his party saying on Monday that he had gone for personal work and will be back.

But the Jharkhand unit of the BJP claimed that the chief minister has been “absconding” for the last 18 hours, fearing action of the ED, and urged Governor C P Radhakrishnan to take cognisance of the matter as the "credibility and reputation of Jharkhand are at stake".

The probe agency had issued fresh summons to Soren last week asking him to confirm his availability for questioning in the alleged money laundering case on either January 29 or January 31. According to the Enforcement Directorate, the investigation pertains to a "huge racket of illegal change of ownership of land by the mafia" in Jharkhand.

In a letter dated January 29, accessed by India Today TV, Soren told the Enforcement Directorate that he would appear for questioning at his residence at 1 pm on January 31.

One of the key aspects highlighted by Soren in his letter was the focus of the probe agency's enquiries into deposits in the bank accounts of businesses related to Sohrai Events and Sohrai Bhawan between 2018 and 2022. These businesses, he clarified, are legal offices held by his wife, Kalpana Soren.