JMM's Counter-Attack On Poster Controversy: “He is not like Himanta Biswa Sarma, Ajit Pawar or Nitish Kumar”

“Let me put it in unequivocal terms: Hemant Soren is neither Himanta Biswa Sarma nor Ajit Pawar nor Nitish Kumar. He is Hemant Soren, son of brave Shibu Soren.”

Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) General Secretary Supriyo Bhattacharya has sought to rein in the chaos in the Mahagathbandhan (the Grand Alliance), ensuing from the high-voltage drama of the Enforcement Directorate’s (ED) sudden raid on Hemant Soren's residence in Delhi on January 29 and the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) missing-person posters, with his statement that Hemant Soren, the son of brave Shibu Soren, cannot be intimidated into joining another party, unlike other leaders who keep changing their party affiliation out of fear.

The three leaders mentioned by Bhattacharya are those who left the Grand Alliance and joined the National Democratic Alliance (NDA). Of these, both Sarma (who was in the Congress formerly) and Pawar (who left with a breakaway faction of the Nationalist Congress Party) had money laundering cases pending against them. Kumar, on the other hand, separated from the Bihar Grand Alliance and formed a new government with the NDA recently.

On the question of getting intimidated by the ED and joining the NDA, Bhattacharya responds, “Chief Minister Hemant Soren had given time to the ED for questioning on January 31. Why then was his Delhi residence raided before time, that too in his absence? Is it legal to search someone's house in their absence? It is being reported that ₹36 lakh was found. Can we be sure that it was not planted by the ED or by Babulal ji? The CM is being treated like a criminal. This is blatant hooliganism.”

“JMM will spend ₹11 lakh on Babulal's treatment”

The news of the BJP declaring the Jharkhand CM a fugitive and a missing person dominated national politics for two whole days. On January 29, Jharkhand BJP State President Babulal Marandi and BJP leader and Godda MP Nishikant Dubey described CM Soren as a missing and absconding person on social media. On January 30, Marandi and the BJP released a poster on their official social media pages which claimed that Soren had gone “missing”. The poster contained a picture of Soren, details pertaining to his complexion, height, and address, and mentioned a reward of ₹11,000 to anyone forthcoming with information about Soren’s whereabouts. In addition to this, a report was registered by Jharkhand BJP’s youth wing at Ranchi’s Argora police station regarding the disappearance of Soren.

The issue has caused a political furore in the country and drawn sharp reactions from the leaders of the Grand Alliance. Leading the responses, JMM leader Bhattacharya has accused the BJP of doing cheap politics. “The Chief Minister is not only an individual but a prime institution of the state. The BJP’s statements about the CM are absolutely a crime under section 499 of the CrPC. We will file a criminal case soon. The State President and the MPs of the BJP should be ashamed of the kind of language that they have used against the CM. Releasing a poster like that shows that the BJP has reached the height of despicability,” he said.

On the release of the missing-person poster of Soren by former CM and BJP leader Marandi, the JMM said that Marandi has lost his mental balance and that the JMM will give ₹11 lakh to the psychiatrist who cures him.

Notably, on January 29, when the ED team arrived at Soren's Delhi residence to question him in relation to the alleged land embezzlement case, Soren was not there. Soon after this, the BJP started calling him an absconder and a missing entity. However, according to the JMM, the CM went to Delhi on January 27 on a personal trip and returned late at night on January 29.

“We will demolish them”: Congress

Taking exception to the poster issue, Jharkhand Congress President Rajesh Thakur has said that those who utter words like “absconder” and “missing” for the CM based on unnamed informers and sources will be knocked down as part of a coordinated strategy.

Referring to the two rounds of meetings of the MLAs and ministers of the Grand Alliance at the CM's residence in Ranchi, Jharkhand minister (from Congress) Banna Gupta said, “All the MLAs and ministers of the alliance are with their leader, Chief Minister Hemant Soren. The Congress stands with him entirely. We will remain firmly with the government in every adverse situation. There are no ifs and buts about this.”

Translated by Kaushika Draavid