Soren to anoint wife as successor? BJP delegation to meet Jharkhand Guv against possible change of guard

Any attempt by Soren, who is allegedly involved in a land and money laundering scandal, to anoint his wife Kalpana will be a mockery of democracy, BJP state unit chief Babulal Marandi said at a press conference on Tuesday.

Dumka (Jharkhand): A BJP delegation will meet Jharkhand Governor C P Radhakrishnan soon and urge him to seek suggestion from legal experts and the attorney general in case the Hemant Soren government proposes to anoint the chief minister's wife as his successor, party state unit chief Babulal Marandi said.

Any attempt by Soren, who is allegedly involved in a land and money laundering scandal, to anoint his wife Kalpana will be a mockery of democracy, he said at a press conference here on Tuesday.

The resignation by JMM lawmaker Sarfraz Ahmed on Monday indicated that Soren wants to field his wife from the seat and anoint her as chief minister in case he is sent to jail in the alleged scam, Marandi claimed.

"But Kalpana Soren being a domicile of Odisha cannot become a MLA from a reserved (scheduled tribe) seat in Jharkhand, leave alone the chief minister of the state," he said.

"If such an unprecedented thing happens it will be a mockery of democracy and will go against the legal framework," said Marandi, a former chief minister of the state.

Marandi said that it will be a blunder on the part of Soren should he project his wife as chief minister. It will also be a mockery of election if she loses the poll as the state poll is due in November-December this year.

The BJP leader wondered why Soren was "afraid" to face the Enforcement Directorate though seven summons were issued to him by the central agency. Soren should face ED and respond to their queries if he did not commit anything wrong. It is "extreme" that Soren did not respond to ED's repeated summons while he accused them of harassing him, Marandi said.

The Hemant Soren government is "neck deep in corruption" and crores of rupees have been recovered from an IAS official during an ED raid, according to Marandi.

Besides, two IAS officers, an engineer, a middlemen and brokers are behind the bar on corruption charges. "The ED has recommended registration of cases against many others but those file were in the almirah of the chief minister," he said.

Soren is spending crores of rupees from the state exchequer to protect these corrupt officials, he alleged.