Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren sought three weeks time to appear before the Enforcement Directorate for questioning in a money laundering case. The agency had asked Soren to appear at its regional office in Ranchi on Thursday, but the CM skipped the summons, citing a pre-scheduled programme.
ED received a communication from the Chief Minister's Office in which Soren has sought at least three weeks time to depose before it, PTI reported quoting sources. The probe agency is now likely to issue a fresh summon.
Earlier in the day, the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) leader accused the Bharatiya Janata Party of hatching a conspiracy against him.
“If the ED thinks there is a serious offence then arrest me instead of issuing summonses. When have I avoided (arrest)? It is a well-planned conspiracy of the opposition (BJP) as people are appreciating and celebrating the work done by my government,” Soren said.
“I understand that it is not a summons of the ED...rather it is a weapon being used by the BJP," he added.
The chief minister attended the National Tribal Dance Festival and Chhattisgarh's statehood celebration event called 'Rajyotsava 2022' in Raipur for which he had received an invitation earlier.
“Do you think we are 'chor-uchakke' (thief-miscreants) or 'hatyare' (murderer)? They issued the summons yesterday (Wednesday) and asked me to appear today (Thursday). Don't we have our engagements? I got an invitation to attend the tribal dance festival (in Raipur) a month ago and my programme was already fixed,” he said.
Addressing party workers, the chief minister alleged that the BJP is making attempts to destabilise his democratically elected government by misusing central agencies ever since it was voted to power.
He further claimed that the saffron party was not able to digest the people's mandate given to a party dominated by tribals and locals, and resorted to politics of terror by unleashing central agencies.
The case is linked to alleged illegal mining in the state, in which the ED had earlier arrested Soren's political aide Pankaj Mishra and two others—local muscleman Bachhu Yadav and Prem Prakash.
The agency has claimed it has "identified" proceeds of crime relating to illegal mining in the state to the tune of more than Rs 1,000 crore till now.
With PTI inputs
