Just a day after his release from Birsa Munda Jail, former Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren has declared war on the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Granted bail by the Jharkhand High Court in a money laundering case, Soren addressed JMM workers at his residence, declaring that the people of Jharkhand would not spare the BJP for their alleged conspiracy against him. He confidently asserted that the saffron party would be wiped out from the state after the upcoming assembly elections.
Soren’s fiery speech targeted the BJP, accusing them of controlling constitutional establishments while simultaneously claiming that the people had already shown their disapproval in the recently concluded Lok Sabha elections. He went on to challenge the BJP, daring them to prepone the assembly elections, dismissing their chances of winning as mere ‘Mungerilal ke haseen sapne’ (daydreams). Soren further criticized the BJP’s practice of appointing tribal leaders as Chief Ministers in various states, calling them mere ‘rubber stamps’.
The Jharkhand High Court, in its bail order, observed that Soren was prima facie not guilty and that there was no likelihood of him committing an offence while on bail. Soren was released on a bail bond of ₹50,000 with two sureties of the same amount. Soren’s arrest by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on January 31 stemmed from its investigation into a money laundering case linked to the illegal possession of 8.36 acres of land.
