The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has summoned Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren in a money laundering case, according to a report.
Soren has been summoned by the ED to Jharkhand's capital Ranchi next week to record his statement, sources told PTI.
It was not immediately clear under which case Soren has been summoned.
Soren's statement will be recorded under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002.
Earlier, Soren has been questioned by the ED in a case linked to alleged illegal mining in Jharkhand. Over alleged irregularities in the mining, Soren was last year at the risk of losing membership of the state assembly and the episode had plunged the state into a political crisis. The ruling coalition comprising Soren's Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM), Congress, and Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) had parked their MLAs in neighbouring Congress-ruled Chhattisgarh to prevent poaching.
The potential disqualification stemmed from a petition by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) that sought Soren's disqualification for violating Section 9(A) of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, which deals with disqualification for government contracts. It's alleged that Soren procured stone mining leases in his name while being the chief minister and holding the mining portfolio in the Cabinet.
The issue was referred to the Governor and by him to the Election Commission (EC), as Article 192 of the Constitution states that on rulings regarding a MLA's disqualification, the question shall be referred to the governor who in turn "shall obtain the opinion of the Election Commission and shall act according to such opinion". No decision on Soren's disqualification was taken despite reports last year that the EC has recommended the disqualification.
In recent years, the Opposition has alleged that the Centre has used agencies like ED and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) as sword-arms of the government to intimidate and harass Opposition figures. Several Opposition leaders across parties such as Congress, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), JMM, Trinamool Congress (TMC), etc. are under various investigations by CBI and ED
