Former Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren, recently arrested in a money laundering case, on Monday vehemently denied any wrongdoing and challenged the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to prove the corruption charges against him. He declared that if his guilt is established, he will leave politics altogether.
Participating in the confidence motion initiated by his successor Champai Soren in the assembly, the executive president of JMM alleged that his arrest was orchestrated by the Raj Bhavan following a conspiracy concocted by the Central government.
Champai Soren, the leader of the JMM legislature party, assumed the role of Jharkhand's chief minister on February 2, following Hemant Soren's arrest by the Enforcement Directorate.
I challenge BJP to prove corruption charges against me. If proved, I will resign from politics, said Hemant Soren. The ex-chief minister who is in ED custody now was allowed by a special PMLA (Prevention of Money Laundering Act) court to participate in the trust vote.
Earlier, Champai Soren moved the confidence motion in the 81-member Assembly. The BJP tried to destabilise the democratically elected Jharkhand government, he said.