Enforcement Directorate arrested Hemant Soren on Wednesday night after questioning him for six hours in the day time on his alleged involvement in money laundering case. Soren had resigned as the Chief Minister of Jharkhand moments before his arrest.

A day before, the former CM had conducted a meeting with his Cabinet Ministers and the legislative party at his residence where it was decided that in the event of his arrest, he would resign and Champai Soren, from the same Party, Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) would be the new Leader of the Legislature Party. The JMM, Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) and Congress coalition has a strong majority in the Assembly.

Hemant Soren, in a statement, thanked his party and said that he had “tried as much as possible to give successful leadership to the government in adverse circumstances for four years.” He also urged them to take care of his family in his absence. In another statement, Soren had claimed that ED has no evidence against him on the case that has no links to him.

The Congress Party strongly condemned the arrest and alleged that the Modi government has made ED, CBI and IT ‘Eliminate Opposition Cell’. It also accused the BJP of plotting conspiracies against those who oppose its ideology.

INC President Mallikarjun Kharge said that imposing ED on Soren and forcing him to resign is “a blow to Federalism”. “If democracy has to be saved from dictatorship, then BJP will have to be defeated,” he added.

Rahul Gandhi too reiterated that ED, CBI, IT etc. are no longer government agencies. “The BJP itself, steeped in corruption, is running a campaign to destroy democracy in its obsession with power,” he stated.

Tejashwi Yadav, former deputy CM of Bihar and son of RJD supremo Lalu Prasad Yadav, said, “Bihar, Chandigarh and now Jharkhand! BJP has ruined democracy and federalism in a single week. It is not hidden from anyone what the central government is doing by destroying the impartiality of the investigating agencies due to the fear of electoral defeat and by making the agencies cells of the BJP. Now the public will break the arrogance of the BJP, filled with arrogance.”

Akhilesh Yadav, chief of Samajwadi Party, claimed that the “anti-tribal face of BJP is coming to the fore in Jharkhand.” He said that Hemant Soren’s commitment to protect tribals and tribal areas from “the corrupt politicians and capitalists of BJP” has led to his arrest, adding that “Jharkhand will not bow down!”

“BJP has already lost the 2024 elections morally, now only its political defeat is yet to be announced,” Yadav stated.