'If I have committed crime, how am I to hold constitutional post,' Soren on office of profit case

Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren on Saturday asserted that his is an unprecedented case in which “a criminal or an accused” is pleading for punishment while the constitutional authorities that should have pronounced judgment are silent.

Soren was referring to the threats of his disqualification as an MLA on the basis of the purported Election Commission advisory to Jharkhand Governor Ramesh Bais on August 25 in an office-of-profit case following a petition by the BJP. However, the Governor is maintaining silence on the issue.

"Have you ever heard of any example in the country in which a criminal or an accused is pleading for punishment or to know about the quantum of punishment? I have been appealing to His Excellency (the governor) with folded hands to announce the verdict, whatever be the punishment,” Soren told a press conference.

He lashed out at the BJP-led central government alleging that it has been misusing agencies such as Enforcement Directorate besides constitutional authorities to create disturbance in states ruled by non-BJP parties.

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"Who is responsible for this? If any criminal is holding a constitutional post and is repeatedly trying to know his crime, his punishment, make it clear (to him). We have not seen such instances in India's history.

“Our representatives met him (Governor), I met the Governor. We even applied through RTI to know the details," Soren whose JMM-led coalition government will be completing three years in December said. He claimed that he felt 'penalised' and victimised' in absence of transparency.

“The prevalent situation is no less than punishment to me. I have been saying that if I committed a crime, how I am allowed to hold a constitutional post," he said.

Lashing out at the saffron party, the JMM leader said its leaders talk about ethics and morality but fail to follow the same.

"Our rivals talk of morality and ethics. What kind of ethics is this? This can be explained only by them. Who is answerable for this - the Governor, the Election Commission, or those who are backing them? I am unaware of the verdict but it seems our opponents know everything,” Soren said.

Following a petition by the BJP seeking Soren’s disqualification from the Assembly in an office of profit case, the EC sent its decision to the state Governor on August 25, sparking a political crisis in the state. Though the EC’s decision has not yet been made official, there is a buzz that the poll panel has recommended the chief minister’s disqualification as an MLA in connection with a mining lease.

“I don't know whether the Governor knows it. We cannot run the government on what the opponents say. It is a democratically elected government and will be run in a constitutional manner. We are still waiting for the verdict," the chief minister said.

Last month, his government won the confidence vote in the Assembly by a comfortable margin amid apprehension that the ruling MLAs of the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha and Congress would be poached to bring down the JMM-led regime. Lawmakers of the opposition BJP-led NDA, however, had staged a walkout.