Illegal mining case: Jharkhand CM Hemant Soren alleges 'conspiracy' as he appears before ED

Updated: Thursday, November 17, 2022, 13:03 [IST]

New Delhi, Nov 17: Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren on Thursday has alleged 'conspiracy' to oust his democratically elected government and create instability in the state. The statements came ahead of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) investigation into the illegal mining case.

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Hemant Soren alleges conspiracy ahead of ED appearance — Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren

"Allegations don't seem to be possible at all. I feel agencies should come to a concrete conclusion only after a detailed probe. I'm a CM, the manner in which summoning is being done makes it look like we're people who flee the country," the Jharkhand CM was quoted as saying by the news agency ANI.

"Such actions create uncertainty in state. It can be called a conspiracy to destabilise government. Our rivals were conspiring to topple government ever since we came to power. This submarine of conspiracy didn't have strength to rise out of water-attempts being made to bring it out," Soren said on the ED summon sent to him in illegal mining case.

The Jharkhand Chief Minister further alleged that the conspirators are hellbent on overthrowing the current government in the state because "they know that we will strengthen tribals so much that those coming from outside will be thrown out."

The ED summoned Soren at its regional office here for interrogation in a money laundering case linked to alleged illegal mining in the state, as reported by PTI.

The agency has said it has "identified" proceeds of crime relating to illegal mining in the state to the tune of Rs 1,000 crore till now.

Soren, talking to reporters, said, "If we calculate the yearly revenue from mines and minerals, it would not touch Rs 1000 crore. I am going to ED office and want to see how they arrived at that figure," he told reporters.

Meanwhile, security has been beefed up around the ED office to avoid any untoward incident.

Earlier in the day, Jharkhand Mukti Morcha workers had gathered in support of Hemant Soren at Morabadi ground in Ranchi Jharkhand on Thursday, ahead of his appearance before ED.