'Don't tarnish Jharkhand's image with sensational statements on illegal mining case': Hemant Soren's letter to ED

The letter addressed to ED assistant director Deovrat Jha in response to the summons the ED issued on November 7, 2022 said so. The copy of the letter was provided to all media persons at the end of the press conference which the Chief Minister held at his residence before departing for ED office for questioning.

"It does not befit the ED to make sensational statements of illegal mining of Rs 1000 crore without ascertaining the facts and figures and that too after carrying out some 50 raids in an investigation going on for almost a year.

"I hope and trust that you will reconsider your claims and refrain from making sensational statement which are unsubstantiated by any facts or figures as such reckless statements not only tarnish the reputation of concerned state departments and personnel but the image of the state of Jharkhand suffers," one of the paragraphs of the letter reads.

The Chief Minister has written the words before challenging the assessment of the scam amount (Rs 1000 crore) presenting facts and figures related to stone mining across Jharkhand.

He also expressed his concern over the wrong review by an agency like the ED.

The letter suggests that the Chief Minister does not see any clear purpose and objectives behind the ED sending him summon to question in case of illegal mining.

"Any state endowed with natural wealth is also afflicted by the curse of illegal mining and Jharkhand is no exception. The undersigned is determined to weed out illegal mining from the state of Jharkhand and welcomes any sincere and honest assistance in this regard from any agency. However, the purpose and objectives of the summons to the undersigned is unclear," the letter reads.

In the letter, the Chief Minister suspected the role of BJP and JMM’s former treasurer Ravi Kejriwal behind his summon from the ED office.

"It also appears that the BJP, the main opposition party in the state, has caused a statement to be given by Ravi Kejriwal to falsely implicate me in illegal mining. Ravi Kejirwal was a member of JMM and the treasurer of the party till he was removed in 2020. Subsequently, a FIR was also filed against him by JMM. Since then, Ravi Kejriwal has become my sworn enemy and I would not be surprised if he has made false allegations against me to settle personal scores,” the letter said.