Jharkhand CM Hemant Soren meets leaders of ruling alliance amid ED heat

Ranchi (Jharkhand) [India], January 3 : Amid speculations that the Jharkhand Chief Minister may be out of power in view of the ongoing Enforcement Directorate (ED) raids against his associates, Hemant Soren chaired an important meeting of Ministers and MLAs of the ruling alliance to discuss the political situation.
In the meeting, the Chief Minister gave his views on the entire incident of being issued a summon by the ED and informed every party leader about it, a press release from the Chief Minister's Secretariat stated.
The Chief Minister was issued a 'last opportunity' on Tuesday by the Directorate of Enforcement (ED) to record his statement in an alleged land scam days ago. Soren, in turn, replied to the agency, labelling the summons as 'illegal.'
In the meeting, all the MLAs expressed their full confidence in the Chief Minister. Soren assured his support to all his Ministers and MLAs and said that he will continue to support them in future.
In any situation, all the JMM MLAs are united and any kind of conspiracy against the Chief Minister and the state government will not succeed, the release said.
Soren also said that the state government under the leadership of the Chief Minister is continuously working for development and public welfare and will continue to do so.
Following the meeting, Congress MLA Pradeep Yadav said that Hemant Soren will continue to stay as the Chief Minister.
"In the meeting, there were 43 MLAs and the thing that has come forward is that Hemant Soren is Chief Minister and he will remain Chief Minister in the coming days also," Pradeep Yadav told reporters.
Speaking to ANI, JMM MP Mahua Maji said that Hemant Soren assured them that there is no need to fear and he has already answered the ED.
"Chief Minister said that there is nothing to fear. He has responded to the 7th summon sent by the ED and he has responded in such a manner that the ED cannot question him in the case again," Maji said after the meeting.
Maji said that Soren has assured his Ministers and MLAs that he does not fear a fight with the BJP and will continue to stay as the Chief Minister.
"Since Hemant Soren has formed the government, they (BJP) have put in their efforts to dismiss the government. He has said he's ready to fight and does not fear. There is no doubt that he will continue to be the CM of Jharkhand. All the MLAs unitedly supported him and said that the government would be run in the same manner in 2024 under Soren's leadership," Maji said.
The JMM MP said that all the MLAs were in a light mood and spoke on issues of development in their respective constituencies.
"The tense situation created by the BJP was all a hoax. Everyone is in a light mood and relaxed. Everyone spoke of development in their respective constituencies. They kept their respective demands for their constituencies before the Chief Minister. Most of the talks were on development of the state," she said.
Jharkhand Congress MLA Irfan Ansari who also attended the meeting said that all of them will support Hemant Soren who will stay on in power as the Chief Minister for the next 25 years. The Congress is a partner of the JMM government in Jharkhand.
"We are with Hemant Soren. He will stay the Chief Minister for 25 years," Irfan Ansari told ANI after the meeting."
JMM spokesperson and general secretary, Vinod Pandey who also attended the meeting said that the ED will see the response to the summon that was served to Chief Minister Hemant Soren and then his party will respond to it.
"Jharkhand CM Hemant Soren has given his response to the last summon by ED. The ED will see the response to the summon and then we will respond accordingly. There is no point of discussing this now," Pandey told reporters after the meeting.
On having an alternative plan in case the Jharkhand Chief Minister is arrested by the ED, Pandey said, "There is no plan B or plan C."
Meanwhile, former JMM leader Sarafaraz Ahmad who resigned from his party on Monday said that he resigned from the party on his own will and said that he has not entered into negotiations with anyone.
"I did it on my own will. No deal," Sarafaraz Ahmad said.
The ED issued fresh summons to Hemant Soren on Saturday for questioning in connection with an alleged land scam. This was the seventh summons issued to Soren by the ED under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002, asking him to appear before the agency and record his statement in connection with the alleged scam.