Jharkhand: BJP chief Marandi warns CM Champai Soren he may go to jail 'like Hemant'

Former Jharkhand chief minister and the BJP's Jharkhand unit chief Babulal Marandi on Friday cautioned chief minister Champai Soren, warning him of potential jail time if he continues to overlook the loot of the state's "jal, jangal, jameen (water, forests, land)" like his predecessor Hemant Soren.

Marandi said Hemant Soren was involved in scams, which led to his arrest by the Enforcement Directorate (ED). "Hemant is a king of scams, and that is why the ED arrested and sent him to jail," he said, while addressing a BJP booth-level workers meeting in Ranchi.

Incidentally, during a YouTube chat with Hemant Soren immediately before his arrest, senior Supreme Court lawyer and Rajya Sabha MP Kapil Sibal had revealed the existence of not one but four cases under the PMLA (Prevention of Money Laundering) Act against Marandi.

Sibal had also confessed his "surprise" at finding that there were at least four more MLAs against whom similar charges were pending, but the ED summons were issued only to Hemant Soren.

"As the ED probed the scam layer by layer, disclosures indicated Hemant Soren's direct involvement in the loots in Jharkhand," Marandi said. "If chief minister Champai Soren continues to overlook the loot in the state like Hemant did, he should also be prepared to go to jail."

He emphasised Prime Minister Narendra Modi's leadership achievements over the past decade, expressing confidence in the BJP-led NDA's prospects in the upcoming elections. "This is one of the reasons why NDA is confident of achieving 400-plus seats in the general elections," he added.

Marandi underscored the BJP's stature as the largest party among democratic nations and urged party workers to remain focused on their goals despite opposition propaganda. He exuded confidence in BJP's ability to secure all 14 Lok Sabha seats in Jharkhand, affirming the significance of grassroots party workers.

Marandi, declared the first chief minister of the new state of Jharkhand in 2000, left the BJP in 2005 and formed the Jharkhand Vikas Morcha-Prajatantrik (JVM-P). He rejoined the BJP in 2020 after JVM failed to make much of a dent in the state, with just three MLAs in the Assembly.

In July 2023, Marandi was made state president of the BJP in the hope of strengthening the party's base among tribal communities. In the last Assembly election in 2020, the BJP had won just two of the 28 seats reserved for SC-STs in the state.