India

Mining lease: EC recommends disqualification of Jharkhand CM Hemant Soren as MLA

The EC sent its opinion to the Governor earlier on Thursday following which the ruling JMM put up a brave front, saying that the outcome, even if adverse, would not affect the state government.

IN A major setback for the JMM-led Jharkhand regime, the Election Commission (EC) on Thursday recommended the disqualification of Chief Minister Hemant Soren as MLA under Section 9A of the Representation of the People Act, which prohibits elected representatives from entering into any contract with the government for “supply of goods” or “execution of any works undertaken” by it.

The Indian Express has learnt that the Commission, in its opinion shared with Jharkhand Governor Ramesh Bais, found Soren guilty of misusing his position to allot himself a stone mining lease. The Chief Minister also heads the state’s mining department.

The Governor, who had referred a complaint from the BJP against Soren, is yet to officially communicate his order on the issue.

Soren was elected from Barhait and Dumka in 2019. He later gave up the Dumka seat with his brother Basant Soren later getting elected from there in a bypoll.

The EC sent its opinion to the Governor earlier on Thursday following which the ruling JMM put up a brave front, saying that the outcome, even if adverse, would not affect the state government.

Speaking to The Indian Express, a senior JMM state minister said the government would approach the court. “Based on the Governor’s order, the state government may file a legal appeal. So there is no danger to the government immediately. However, there will be some ramifications…party leaders and workers may get disillusioned as the Opposition (BJP) continues to attack us,” the minister said.

A senior JMM functionary told The Indian Express that Speaker Rabindra Nath Mahato could buy Soren “some time” to challenge the order. If a legal challenge fails, he said, Soren “will fight the by-election from the seat on which he won earlier”. “If he wins from the same seat, it will be the public’s mandate in his favour. The leadership is considering all possible scenarios,” said the functionary.

An EC source told The Indian Express that the Commission recently concluded hearings in the reference received from Bais, and that its opinion “was dispatched by the morning flight”.

Later, Soren went into a huddle with his advisors and state Advocate General Rajiv Ranjan. Soren also hit out at the BJP, which had submitted a plea before the Jharkhand Governor seeking the Chief Minister’s disqualification — the petition had been forwarded by Bais to the EC.

“This blatant misuse of Constitutional authorities and public agencies and its complete takeover by BJP HQ in Deendayal Upadhyay Marg in this shameful manner is unseen in Indian democracy,” the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO) quoted Soren as saying in a statement.

Source
The Indian Express

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