RANCHI: Former Jharkhand Chief Minister Champai Soren took oath as a Minister in the Hemant Soren-led Jharkhand cabinet at Raj Bhavan in Ranchi on Monday. Champai Soren resigned from the post of Chief Minister on July 3, a day before JMM executive president Hemant Soren took oath as the 13th chief minister of Jharkhand on July 4.
Along with Champai Soren, JMM leaders Baidya Nath Ram, Babi Devi, Mithilesh Thakur, Deepak Birua, and Hafizul Hasan took oath as Ministers. Congress leaders Rameshwar Oraon, Banna Gupta, Irfan Ansari, Dipika Pandey Singh and RJD leader Satyanand Bhokta also took oath as Ministers. Earlier today, Hemant Soren won the floor test during a special session of the state assembly. Hemant Soren won the vote of trust with the votes of 45 MLAs in his favour. He was sworn in as the 13th Chief Minister of Jharkhand in Raj Bhavan, Ranchi on July 4.
Hemant Soren was released from the Birsa Munda Jail on June 28 after nearly five months following bail from Jharkhand High Court in a money laundering case linked to an alleged land scam. He had resigned as Chief Minister before his arrest on January 31. He was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in January on charges related to an alleged land scam and money laundering.
Champai Soren, who had taken over as the CM following the arrest, resigned from the post just five months after taking the oath, setting the ball rolling for Hemant Soren to again take over the role on Wednesday. Champai Soren had taken oath as the 12th Chief Minister of Jharkhand in the Raj Bhavan on February 2 this year.
Earlier in a video message Hemant Soren had accused the BJP of leveling false allegations against him. "In the 2019 Jharkhand Assembly Elections, the people of Jharkhand gave our party mandate but the conspirators were unable to digest how an Adivasi youngster can sit in such a high position. At last, on January 31, they (the BJP) made false allegations against me and removed me from the post of Chief Minister. Because of the people's blessings, I'm out here sitting in front of you. We will always be the voice of the people. Today, the public opinion of the people of Jharkhand will rise again. By taking charge, the work will be carried out again," he said.
Hemant Soren's return as CM will bolster the JMM, which won three seats in the tribal-dominated state of Jharkhand in the Lok Sabha elections. In 2019, JMM fought the assembly elections in alliance with the Congress and Lalu Prasad's Rashtriya Janta Dal (RJD) and got a comfortable majority with forty-seven seats in the 81-member house.
