Ranchi, July 8: Former Jharkhand chief minister Champai Soren and 10 other leaders of the JMM-led coalition took oath as ministers in the Hemant Soren government after it won a trust vote in the assembly amid a walkout by opposition members on Monday.
A total of 45 MLAs, including nominated member Glen Joseph Galstaun, voted in favour of the confidence motion.
BJP and AJSU legislators walked out of the House as the headcount for voting started. The BJP-led opposition has 24 legislators of the saffron party and three of the AJSU Party.
After winning the trust vote, Hemant Soren said, “Today, everyone again got to witness the unity and strength of the ruling alliance. I thank the Speaker and all the alliance MLAs.” He said the JMM-led alliance has been performing strongly since coming to power in 2019 by following the constitutional procedures and it was again witnessed during the day.
During his speech on the confidence motion in the assembly, the chief minister said, “One could see the conduct of BJP legislators after seeing me again in the House.” “The BJP doesn’t have any agenda for the state. The people of the country held a mirror to the BJP in the recently concluded Lok Sabha polls. In the upcoming assembly elections, they will face strong resistance from the JMM-led alliance,” the CM said.
Speaking on the confidence motion, Leader of Opposition Amar Bauri alleged that the JMM-Congress-RJD alliance government did not fulfill even a single promise in the last five years.
Earlier, BJP legislators trooped into the well seeking Speaker Rabindra Nath Mahto’s permission to allow MLA Bhanu Pratap Sahi to speak, which was turned down by the Speaker.
Seventy-five MLAs were present in the assembly during the voting. Independent legislator Saryu Roy abstained from voting.
After the trust vote, Jharkhand Governor C P Radhakrishnan administered the oath of office and secrecy to the 11 leaders, including Champai Soren, at a function in the Raj Bhavan in the presence of Chief Minister Hemant Soren and other senior politicians of the JMM-led alliance and government officials.
Champai Soren had resigned from the post of CM on July 3, a day before JMM executive president Hemant Soren took oath as the 13th chief minister of Jharkhand on July 4. After taking oath as a minister, Champai Soren said, “Whatever I have done in a short span as the CM is before everyone. Now let’s see what responsibility is given to me.”
ED challenges Soren’s bail, moves SC
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has moved the Supreme Court challenging the Jharkhand High Court order granting bail to JMM leader Hemant Soren in a money laundering case linked to an alleged land scam.
The high court had on June 28 granted bail to Soren, who on July 4 took oath as the chief minister of Jharkhand.
Soren, the executive president of the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM), had resigned as chief minister shortly before the ED arrested him on January 31 in the case.
Earlier during the hearing in the high court, ED’s counsel had argued that if Soren was released on bail, he might commit a similar offence and referred to cases against ED officers in the SC/ST police station. “Though the conduct of the petitioner has been sought to be highlighted by the Enforcement Directorate on account of the First Information Report instituted by the petitioner against the officials of the ED, but on an overall conspectus of the case, there is no likelihood of the petitioner committing a similar nature of offence,” the high court had said. (PTI)
