Taking a swipe at Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren after the Enforcement Directorate (ED) summoned him for the sixth time in connection with the alleged land scam case, BJP leader Pratul Shah Deo on December 12 said the former was behaving more like a ‘monarch’ than a people’s representative.
Speaking to the media on December 12, Pratul Shah Deo said, “Hemant Soren is conducting himself as an elected Chief Minister should not. He is behaving more like a monarch. This is what is expected of Vanshavadi Rajkumars (dynasts).”
Urging the central probe agency to take stringent action against the Jharkhand Chief Minister, the BJP leader said, “They (ED) should set an example that nobody is higher than the law of the land. He is neck-deep in corruption. There are corruption scandals worth Rs 70,000 crores in his chief ministerial tenure.”
Earlier, the Enforcement Directorate summoned Hemant Soren in connection with the alleged land scam case. Summoning under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), the ED has asked CM Hemant Soren to appear before the agency on December 12.
The Chief Minister had filed a writ petition in the Jharkhand High Court challenging the earlier summons issued against him in a money laundering case by the Enforcement Directorate.
Hemant Soren moved the high court after his petition in the Supreme Court was rejected, with the apex court directing him to approach the high court concerned with his plea against the Enforcement Directorate summons. Soren was summoned by the ED, earlier, in mid-August in connection with a land ‘scam’ case.
However, the CM ignored the summons, claiming that he was busy with the State’s Independence Day celebrations.
He was asked again to appear on August 24 and September 9, but he skipped the summons, citing preoccupations.
The agency then issued its fourth summons to the Jharkhand CM, asking him to report to the agency on September 23.
The CM had earlier threatened to move for legal proceedings against the Centre if it did not withdraw the summonses issued against him.
(with inputs from ANI)
