Jharkhand Mukti Morcha leader Hemant Soren, took oath as the Jharkhand chief minister at Raj Bhavan on Thursday. Governor C.P. Radhakrishnan administered the oath and office of secrecy to Soren, days after he walked out of jail in a money laundering case.
Earlier in the day, Governor C P Radhakrishnan invited the leader to form the government, a day after his predecessor Champai Soren stepped down as Chief Minister.
Supriyo Bhattacharya, General Secretary of JMM said, “Governor has invited us to form the government. The swearing-in ceremony will be held on July 7.” Champai Soren was made chief minister by the alliance after the Enforcement Directorate arrested Hemant Soren in a money laundering case.
Champai met the Governor on Wednesday to submit his resignation after the ruling coalition’s 45 MLAs elected Hemant Soren as their leader. Hemant was released from jail after the Jharkhand High Court granted him bail on June 28, five months after he was arrested.
The court had noted that there exist “reasons to believe that he was not guilty of the offence” of money laundering brought against him over a plot of land in Ranchi.
“I have resigned as per the decision of the JMM-led alliance. Our alliance is strong,” Champai Soren said after coming out of Raj Bhavan on Wednesday. “All know what had happened with Hemant Soren Ji. I was given the responsibility by the coalition partners. Now, the alliance has decided in favour of Hemant Soren Ji,” he added.
Soren, along with a delegation of the JMM and its allies, met the governor at Raj Bhavan on Wednesday and staked claim to form the government after his party colleague Champai Soren resigned as the chief minister.
Congress state unit president Rajesh Thakur, RJD minister Satyanand Bhokta and CPI(ML)-L MLA Vinod Singh were part of the delegation. Kalpana Soren, the Gandey MLA and wife of Soren, was also part of the delegation.