Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Wednesday reacted over reports of the removal of Champai Soren as Jharkhand chief minister and return of Hemant Soren as the CM, calling it “deeply distressing”.
“The removal of a senior tribal leader from the post of Chief Minister in Jharkhand by the JMM and Congress party is deeply distressing. I am certain that the people of Jharkhand will strongly condemn this action and firmly reject it,” Sarma wrote in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Reports suggested that Champai Soren will resign on Wednesday to pave the way for Hemant Soren’s return as Jharkhand’s chief minister. According to officials, the decision was taken at the legislature party meeting of the ruling Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM)-led alliance at Champai Soren’s residence.
The development comes days after Hemant was released on bail in money laundering charges in connection with an alleged land racket in the state capital. He was the second chief minister to be arrested by the federal agency barely months before the Lok Sabha elections on January 31. Throughout his jail time, Hemant maintained that he was “falsely implicated” and asserted that a “conspiracy” was hatched against him.
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Minutes before his arrest, Hemant resigned as the chief minister and passed on the baton to Champai Soren. While he was in jail, his party, JMM, won three Lok Sabha seats – two more than its tally in 2019.
Champai, a loyalist of Hemant and a close associate of the former Jharkhand CM’s father Shibu Soren, took charge as the CM on February 2.
Meanwhile, amid the speculations of Champai resigning from the top post, another meeting of the JMM-led ruling alliance legislative party was held at his residence on Wednesday evening.
(With inputs from agencies)
