Jharkhand To Get New CM Today; SC Refuses To Entertain Hemant Soren’s Plea Against ED Arrest

Ranchi: Champai Soren, a leader of the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM), is set to take oath as the next chief minister of Jharkhand on Friday.

The oath-taking ceremony will be held around 12.15 pm at Durbar Hall of the Raj Bhavan in Ranchi, according to PTI.

In a late-night development on Thursday, Governor C P Radhakrishnan invited the loyalist of JMM leader Hemant Soren to Raj Bhavan to form the government, almost 24 hours after the arrest of the former CM in an alleged money laundering case.

Champai Soren has also been asked to demonstrate his majority in a floor test within the next 10 days.

Meanwhile, the Supreme Court has refused to entertain a writ petition filed by Hemant Soren, challenging his arrest by the Directorate of Enforcement (ED). The Top Court instead asked him to approach the Jharkhand High Court under Article 226 of the Constitution. The special bench of Justices Sanjiv Khanna, MM Sundresh and Bela Trivedi said that it is open for Soren to seek expeditious listing of his petition before the High Court.

The former CM was arrested on Wednesday night following six hours of questioning. “No evidence has been by them found yet. They also tried to spoil my image by conducting raids at my Delhi residence. We have to fight a new fight now against those who commit atrocities against the poor, Adivasis, Dalit and the innocent,” Soren said in a video message recorded just before his arrest.

In Odisha, JMM members on Friday launched dawn to dusk bandh at Rairangpur in Odisha’s Mayurbhanj district from 6 am in protest against arrest of the former CM by ED.