Hemant Soren terms his arrest as 'black chapter' in Indian democracy, alleges Raj Bhavan's involvement

"I would like to say that the night of January 31 is a black night, a black chapter in Indian democracy. This is the first time in the country that an incumbent Chief Minister was arrested. I don't know of any precedent," Soren told the House during the discussion of the trust vote sought by Chief Minister Champai Soren.

The Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) leader, who was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate on January 31 after over seven hours of grilling in connection with a money laundering case linked to an alleged land scam, arrived in the House on Monday to participate in the floor test.

Hemant Soren had stepped down as the Chief Minister soon after his arrest on Wednesday last, and the JMM and the ruling coalition MLAs elected Champai Soren as their legislature party leader within hours.

Champai Soren was sworn in as Chief Minister last Friday by Governor C P Radhakrishnan, who asked the new CM to prove his majority on the floor of the Assembly within ten days.

Terming his arrest as the latest example of the "tortures" inflicted on the scheduled cases, tribes and minorities in the country, Hemant Soren said without naming any party or group, "I don't understand how they manage to nurse so much hatred against these sections".

Targeting the Governor, he said: "I have a feeling that in making it (his arrest) happen, Raj Bhavan was also involved in some way or the other."

Soren, however, declared that he had not accepted "defeat". "I have not accepted defeat. If they think they can fulfil their designs by keeping me behind bars, they should know that Jharkhand is a state where in every nook and corner people of scheduled castes and tribes had fought for India's independence."

Soren said coming from a tribal background, he was not completely abreast of the rules, regulations and laws. "The way things have turned out, has left me puzzled. I come from a tribal background, and there are some gaps in my understanding of rules and regulations and the law."

Soren alleged that the script culminating in his arrest on January 31 was being written in a well-planned manner for a long time, since 2022. "They have taken me in their custody in a planned way."

Soren referred to Dr B R Ambedkar and said he had to convert to Buddhism. "The way things are panning out in the country, the tribals and scheduled castes may be forced to think along similar lines".