Jharkhand's first family hit by graft charges

RANCHI: The era of instability seems to be returning to mineral-rich Jharkhand, which was carved out of Bihar on November 15, 2000. Chief minister Hemant Soren is in the midst of an office-of-profit controversy. And two more members of the Soren family, Hemant Soren’s younger brother Basant Soren and sister-in-law, Sita Soren, both law-makers in the state assembly, are also facing legal trouble. The chief minister has been accused of awarding himself a lease to mine stone chips mines in his name, cleared by the mines and environment departments which he heads.

Also Read | HC notice to CM Soren for stone mines lease in his name

The charge has led to a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) in the Jharkhand High Court demanding an inquiry by the Central Bureau of Investigation and the Enforcement Directorate. The court has issued notices to the chief minister and the state for their response. Additionally, the Election Commission of India has also initiated a probe on a reference from the Jharkhand Governor to look into the Bharatiya Janata Party’s complaint that Soren held an “office of profit” by granting a lease to himself. The BJP has asked that Soren be disqualified from the assembly for violating the Representation of People’s Act.

Election Commission of India officials on Wednesday said that they would look at the possibility of issuing notice to Hemant Soren after examining the documents submitted by the Jharkhand government in response to the notice issued by it. “We are getting the documents legally examined,” a senior ECI official said on condition of anonymity.

Also Read | ECI seeks Hemant Soren’s mining lease details over ‘office of profit’ complaint

Besides the charge of granting a lease to himself, the chief minister has also been accused of allotting a 11-acre plot to his wife Kalpana Soren’s firm in an industrial park in Ranchi. The industry department is also headed by Soren. The state’s opposition BJP has announced it plans to raise this issue also with the Governor. The developments have given the opposition ammunition to target the Sorens, the most powerful political family in the tribal state.

Also Read | Industry dept headed by CM Soren allotted plot to his wife’s firm: BJP

Hemant Soren, 47, is son of the JMM president Shibu Soren, arguably the tallest leader from Jharkhand. A three-term chief minister, Shibu Soren, is currently member of the Rajya Sabha. Shibu Soren’s younger son Basant Soren represents JMM’s traditional stronghold Dumka in the assembly. Sita Soren, widow of Durga Soren, the eldest son of Shibu Soren, is a three-term legislator representing Jama assembly seat which was earlier held by her late husband.

The family is not new to controversy. Shibu Soren, popularly known as “Guruji” in the state, first hit the national limelight in the early 1990s during what is now called the JMM bribery case. Four JMM MPs including Shibu Soren were accused of taking money to support the PV Narsimha Rao-led minority Congress government in 1993. They escaped judicial scrutiny on the premise of parliamentary privilege.

Later, in 2002, Shibu Soren courted controversy when he was disqualified as Rajya Sabha member for holding an office of profit by the virtue of being chairman, Jharkhand Area Autonomous Council. In what came as a more serious blow, in December 2006, a trial court in Delhi convicted and sentenced Shibu Soren to life imprisonment for his involvement in the 1994 abduction and murder of his private secretary Shashi Nath Jha. Soren was union coal minister then and had to step down following the conviction. The JMM patriarch was however acquitted in the case by the High Court in 2013, an acquittal which was also upheld by the Supreme Court in 2018.

Also Read | After CM Soren, his minister faces EC probe

Besides the JMM president, other family members have also been embroiled in controversies. His legislator daughter-in-law Sita Soren is facing trial before a special CBI court in connection with an alleged horse-trading case related to Rajya Sabha elections in 2012. The trial is still pending in a Ranchi court.

Basant Soren courted controversy even before he became a legislator in 2020 from Dumka. His firm, Grand Mining as accused of illegal mining in Pakur district. His association with that firm has now been converted into a complaint by the BJP before the Jharkhand Governor, seeking his disqualification from the assembly. The Election Commission is looking into the petition forwarded by the governor, the senior ECI official said.

The JMM’s defence is that the Sorens are soft targets because they belong to a scheduled tribe (ST).

“The fresh set of allegations against the CM is baseless as the mine lease is a very old issue which was duly declared by the CM in his election affidavits and income tax returns. As far as the allegations against our leader Shibu Soren are concerned, he was wrongly accused in the murder case and eventually acquitted. In the bribery case, the way it is presented itself shows the inherent feudal mindset of our society. There were parliamentarians from other parties as well who were part of that controversy. But why is it that the case is still remembered as ‘JMM bribery case’. Why? Just because we are a party of tribals? ,” asked Supriyo Bhattacharya, principal general secretary and spokesperson of the JMM.

Bhattacharya claimed why questions of propriety are only raised when it came to tribal and Dalit leaders.

“Why for the same not matter for other party leaders including some incumbent union ministers who are facing serious charges?. What happened to the minister whose son is behind bars for mowing down agitating farmers in Uttar Pradesh.”. His reference is to the junior Union home minister.

On the face of it, all JMM leaders and and the party’s partners Congress and the RJD have thrown their weight behind Hemant Soren. Leaders of the three parties met the governor on Monday and said the BJP was behind the witch hunt.

However, there is an eerie silence among treasury bench legislators about the possible impact of the direct allegations against the chief minister. A JMM legislator said on condition of anonymity that the next few weeks are likely to be full of uncertainties about the future of the CM as well as the government. “With the massive electoral win in 2019, Hemant Soren established himself as the political heir to Guruji both within and outside the party. However, these allegations have the potential to make a major dent in his image if not break his political career. If he survives this storm, he will further cement his place.”

He may be overstating the case. The Sorens have managed to weather controversies before in the state where scheduled tribes account for over a fourth of the 33 million population (2011).

Sudhir Pal, a political analyst associated with several think tanks in the state, said the reason for this is the personal appeal of “Guruji”, his ability to play the “victim card” and the fractured nature of the state polity.

“There is no doubt that no other leader matches the mass following of Shibu Soren in Jharkhand. And he earned that with his campaigns against Mahajani (money lenders) and liquor. He was always successful in passing on the message that he is targeted on account of being among the few from the community to have made it to the top. Additionally, going by the diverse demography of the state, we have often witnessed fractured mandate,” said Pal.

Pal also underlined that corruption is rarely an issue in electoral politics. “While corruption can be used as a tool to bring down a government, it has constantly been on wane as an issue to consider for the electorate while exercising their franchise. It’s all about identity politics, be it caste, religion, or linguistic sentiments,” he added.

As speculation soars about the fate of the incumbent chief minister and his government, which has completed 28 months in power, the ruling alliance has accused the BJP of orchestrating the crisis by executing the script it has played in other states through the central agencies. All eyes are on Delhi, and Raj Bhawan.

Barring a five-year period between 2014 and 2019 when the BJP ruled the state with Raghubar Das at the helm, the state has seen governments come and go, and intermittent spells of President’s rule. In its 22-year existence, the state has seen 10 governments.