A day after he was questioned by the Enforcement Directorate (ED), Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren on Friday claimed that misdeeds of the previous government were being heaped on his dispensation.
Soren was questioned by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) for over nine-and-half-hours on Thursday in connection with its investigation into an alleged illegal mining case.
Addressing supporters at the CM residence, Soren said, "I visited the ED office yesterday. During the seven to eight hours of the question-answer session, I asked them (ED officials) if it was possible to do all that I was being charged with in just two years."
Soren asserted that his government would provide full support to the agency if the probe was conducted in a fair manner without any partiality.
"The opposition feels pain in stomach seeing the popularity of this government, which is currently resolving all rural issues. When they found no other way, they put the blame of their old misdeeds on the current government," he said.
The CM wondered why central agency probes are mostly underway only in non-BJP states. "Why is that Telangana, West Bengal, Bihar, Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand are facing the maximum heat? Is BJP the only untainted in the entire country? The agencies should give reply on this," the CM said.
JMM workers, who had been camping in Ranchi since Thursday in solidarity with Soren, raised slogans during the day against the BJP and central agencies outside the CM residence.
"People of this state have now taken to the streets against the conspirators," Soren stated. He also claimed that some "so-called adivasi-moolvasis", in connivance with the opposition, are trying to mislead the "original members" of the community.
"It is high time you (people) take charge. Otherwise, anyone from Gujarat, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh or Maharasthra will come here and rule Jharkhand. The BJP still bring people from outside and send them to Parliament. In the coming days, we want to see members of Advasi-Moolvasi communities in Assembly as well as Parliament," he added.
(With PTI Inputs)
