Jharkhand Chief Minister Champai Soren on Monday won the floor test on the floor of the state Assembly with 47 MLAs expressing confidence in his government against 29 votes against it. The trust vote, which ended with a headcount of those in favour of the Motion of COnfidence and those against it, took place within a week of former Chief Minister Hemant Soren’s resignation and arrest, and the subsequent swearing-in of old JMM hand and Jharkhand movement stalwart Champai Soren as the Chief Minister.
Addressing the Assembly after tabling the trust vote, CM Soren said that his predecessor Hemant was arrested and targetted by the Enforcement Directorate as part of a planned “witch-hunt” for a crime he did not commit.
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“Today, the entire country has seen the injustice being meted out to Hemant Soren. Go to any village, you will find Hemant Soren’s schemes in every house,” he said. The Chief Minister also sought to target the BJP-led central government of targetting Hemant as part of a planned attack against the tribals and natives of Jharkhand.
“The Adivasis (tribals) and moolvasis (natives) of Jharkhand suffered from economic, and social suppression. Hemant Babu thought of them. He linked all people deprived to welfare schemes. ‘Yeh gunaah hai kya’ (is this a crime)?” he said, adding that he can proudly say that he is “Part-2 of Hemant Soren”.
Addressing the Assembly during the discussion on the trust vote, Hemant said that the day of his arrest will be etched as a “dark chapter” in the history of India’s democracy. “Today, they do not want to see a tribal, Dalit or a backward to assume leadership positions. I knew they would pose hurdles in letting me complete my 5-year tenure. They did not allow it in their own party,” he said.
“This dark night is deeply embedded in the democracy of the country. On January 31, a CM in the country was arrested. And somewhere the Raj Bhawan had a role to play in this incident,” Hemant added.
Hemant was arrested on January 31 after hours-long interrogation by the Enforcement Directorate. Hemant resigned as the Chief Minister the same evening, paving the way for old JMM hand Champai Soren as his successor. Soren staked claim to form the government and was appointed Chief Minister by the Governor on February 2.
As many as 40 MLAs of the JMM-Congress-RJD alliance were transported to Hyderabad ahead of the trust vote. The ruling coalition currently has 47 MLAs in the 81-member Jharkhand Assembly after Gandey MLA Sarfaraz Ahmed quit on January 2 reportedly to accommodate Hemant Soren’s wife Kalpana as the former CM’s arrest seemed imminent. The JMM has 29 MLAs while allies Congress and RJD have 17 and one MLA respectively. Sources said the lone CPI(ML) legislator, Vinod Singh, has also extended support to the coalition.