Denying rumours of a rift within the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM), MLA Sita Soren has said that she is with the party and there is rebellion.
In an interview with Outlook, Sita, the daughter-in-law of JMM patriarch Shibu Soren, further said that Hemant Soren, the former CM of Jharkhand and her brother-in-law, has assured her that she would be made a minister in the state cabinet.
Speaking about the rumours about a rift in the party, Sita told Outlook, “I have not rebelled. There is no rupture in the party. I am and will remain firmly with the party through thick and thin.”
Sita is an MLA from Jama assembly segment in Jharkhand’s Dumka district. She is the wife of the late JMM leader Durga Soren, the older son of Shibu. She is in her third term as an MLA.
“I have been an MLA thrice. Everyone wants to advance. Who doesn’t? When I speak about this at the party level, people present it as though I’m angry with the party,” said Sita.
She further said, “It’s all fine as long as you remain silent, but if you talk about your rights, there is a problem. Not only tribals, Dalits, and minorities, but even Guru Ji [Shibu Soren] had to fight for his rights within the party. Only through struggle did he reach his current position and only through struggle has the party grown stronger.”
After the arrest of former CM Hemant Soren in the alleged land scam case on January 31, Champai Soren, leader of the Mahagathbandhan —Grand Alliance— comprising the JMM, Congress, and Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) became the new CM on February 2. The alliance won the trust vote on the floor of the Jharkhand assembly on Monday. In an assembly with 81 members, 47 votes were cast in favour of the government and 29 votes against it.
Sita was among the 47 MLAs who voted for the government. There had been rumours that she might not do so. In the past, she has expressed her displeasure with the state government and her party on multiple occasions. This time around, the cause of her vexation was said to be the buzz surrounding Kalpana Soren.
In view of the Enforcement Directorate’s (ED) numerous raids over the past year, the media was ripe with speculations that in case of Hemant’s arrest, his wife Kalpana could succeed him as the CM of Jharkhand. These speculations gained momentum in the national media from the evening of January 29 to January 31. In the meantime, there were also reports that Sita did not approve of Kalpana’s leadership and, being the elder daughter-in-law of the Soren family, she wanted to become the CM herself.
‘Bhabhi, You Will Be Minister This Time’: Hemant Soren To Sita Soren
After casting her vote for the government in the assembly floor test, Sita Soren told Outlook that she has been assured ministership in the new government.
Sita told Outlook, “Yes, the party, Guru ji, and Hemant have said it. He [Hemant] said, ‘Bhabhi [sister-in-law], you will become a minister this time.’ The demand has arisen from all quarters of the state’s populace. I just want to live up to the expectations of the people and do something for them. Durga Soren Ji did so much for the party. Now it’s my turn to do something.”
Sita has been elected MLA for three consecutive times from the assembly constituency of Jama. Though she has a strong presence in the politics of Jharkhand, she was unable to find a place in the Hemant Soren cabinet. She has made no bones about her ambitions in this regard. Her husband Durga Soren was once considered a strong leader of the JMM and viewed as the successor of Shibu Soren. In 1995, he became an MLA from the Jama constituency. But his career and life were cut short as he died in a Bokaro hospital in 2009 at the age of 39. Following Durga’s death, Sita entered active politics and became an MLA from Jama, first in 2009 and then in 2014 and 2019.
Sita told Outlook that she will be inducted into the state cabinet when it undergoes expansion on Wednesday for the remaining one-year tenure of the government.
Sita Soren Targets BJP Via ED And CBI
Sita Soren met Hemant Soren after his arrest. Referring to this meeting, she said, “I spoke to him when he came to the legislative assembly to cast his vote. He’s a braveheart. He showed no signs of nervousness. What has happened to him is unjust. He has been framed. Sooner or later, the verdict will come in his favour and he will come out strong.”
Sita further said that Soren is in the ED’s scanner as the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) could not see a tribal running a government.
“They [the BJP] could not digest an Adivasi CM. They could not also accept him because he prioritised development and introduced schemes to benefit the tribals, the indigenous people, and the minorities. That is why he has been implicated. They [the central government] do not want a tribal to work so well,” said Sita.
Sita said she wants people to ponder why there are selective ED and Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probes and why chaos is let loose only in states that do not have BJP governments.
(Translated by Kaushika Draavid.)
