Former chief minister Champai Soren on Wednesday resigned from his post in the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha, alleging that the JMM’s “current style of functioning and policies” forced him to quit the party he served for many years. Soren, who is scheduled to join the BJP on August 30, also resigned as a state assembly MP and cabinet minister from Jharkhand. “Today, I have resigned from the primary membership and all posts of the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha. I will continue to fight for the issues of tribals, Dalits, backwards and common people of Jharkhand,” Soren said.
In a letter to party chief Shibu Soren, the senior tribal leader said he was forced to resign after feeling aggrieved by the current style of functioning of the JMM and its policies. “I never imagined in my dreams that I would leave the JMM, a party which is like a family to me… The turn of events in the past forced me to take this decision with a lot of pain… It pains me to say that the party has deviated from its principle,” he said in the letter. Champai Soren became the chief minister of Jharkhand on February 2, soon after Hemant Soren resigned as chief minister shortly before he was arrested by the ED in a money laundering case. Champai resigned from the post and Hemant was sworn in as chief minister again in July, after being released on bail.
Soren lamented that there is no forum in the party to express grief and “you (Shibu Soren) are not active in politics due to your ill health but you will remain my guide…” Soren, who met Home Minister Amit Shah in New Delhi earlier this week and announced his joining the saffron party, arrived in Ranchi on Wednesday along with his son and was greeted by a large number of supporters. “My decision (to join the BJP) is for the benefit of Jharkhand… I am used to struggles,” Soren said. Asked about the allegation that he is under “surveillance”, the former CM said he is not afraid of any situation and indicated that he will resign from the JMM and as a minister later on Wednesday. Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma had claimed earlier in the day that Champai Soren had been under surveillance by his own government’s police for the past five months.
Sarma claimed that two sub-inspectors of the Jharkhand Police Special Branch were caught by Soren’s people in a Delhi hotel while keeping watch on the former chief minister. However, the JMM claimed that the two police officials were sent for Soren’s safety and were released soon after being detained. Demanding an apology from the saffron party leaders, the JMM said in a statement, “We will give a befitting reply to the BJP soon and thwart any attempt by it to grab power here.” Soren said he does not fear any conspiracy against him. He said he does not think it is appropriate to respond to the allegation that he was caught in “operation lotus”, a term indicating an attempt to topple governments in states ruled by non-BJP parties. Champai Soren’s son Babulal Soren said that the JMM did not show them any respect and that now the BJP has welcomed them in a dignified manner. Meanwhile, BJP state president Babulal Marandi demanded an inquiry by a sitting Supreme Court judge into the “surveillance” of Champai Soren. Addressing a press conference here, Marandi said, “Two special branch officials have been arrested in Delhi and there are allegations of attempts to frame Champai Soren ji. This is a serious issue.”
The former chief minister alleged that the police machinery has been misused to silence those who raise their voice against the Hemant Soren government. On Tuesday, Champai Soren had claimed that he was joining the BJP to save tribal identity and existence, which are at stake in the state’s Santhal Pargana region due to “uncontrolled” infiltration from Bangladesh. The senior JMM leader said that only the saffron party seems to be serious about the tribal issue, while others are indulging in vote bank politics. “Today, Bangladeshi infiltration has become a big problem in Santhal Pargana, the holy land of (freedom fighters) Baba Tilka Manjhi and Sido-Kanhu. The dignity of our mothers, sisters and daughters is at stake,” Champai Soren said in a post on X.
These intruders are causing economic and social damage to the local population and if they are not stopped, the existence of “our society in Santhal Pargana will be in jeopardy,” he claimed. In many areas, including Pakur and Rajmahal, the number of infiltrators has surpassed that of tribals, Soren claimed. Only the BJP seems to be taking this issue seriously and other parties are ignoring it for the sake of vote bank politics, he said, explaining why he decided to join the saffron party. The veteran politician had earlier said that he experienced “bitter humiliation” as chief minister, forcing him to look for an alternative path. He claimed that all his government programmes in the first week of July were abruptly cancelled by the party leadership without his knowledge. Soren began his political career by getting elected as an independent MP in 1991. Four years later, he contested the assembly elections on the JMM ticket and defeated the BJP candidate.
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