New DelhiJharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren is embroiled in a dispute over a mining lease, and the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is pressing for his disqualification from the Assembly, the future of the current coalition government – which includes the Soren-led Jharkhand Mukti Morcha. Is. (JMM), Congress and Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) – seems unstable.
Jharkhand Congress in-charge Avinash Pandey on Wednesday Tried To strike a confident tone blaming the BJP for “trying to create an atmosphere of political instability” in the state. Responding to questions on the alliance, Pandey said, “We have sufficient numbers and the government will definitely complete its term. All coalition partners are on the same boat.”
Pandey’s remarks came two days after the Election Commission of India (ECI) on May 2 asked Soren to explain his stand on the mining lease allegedly granted to himself – while holding charge of the department – The Representation of In contravention of section 9A of The Representation. Public Act, 1951. The commission had earlier on April 8 sought relevant and ‘certified’ documents related to the lease from Chief Secretary Sukhdev Singh, which were sent by the Jharkhand government.
According to a government source, Soren is yet to respond to the May 2 notice.
Section 9A of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, states that a person shall be disqualified (from membership of Parliament or a State Legislature) “if, and for so long, a contract has been made by him with the appropriate Government, in the course of his business or business, to supply goods, or for the performance of any act done by that Government”.
In Soren’s case, he had allegedly allotted himself a mining lease, which, if implemented, would have been used for a mining lease in the area, according to senior government officials and an expert on the constitution whom ThePrint spoke to. A stone quarry had to be set up.
Trouble for Jharkhand CM started in February, when former CM and senior BJP leader Raghubar Das accused Soren had in May last year allotted a mining lease for a stone quarry spread over 0.88 acres in Angara block of Ranchi and approved it by the gram sabha in June 2021. Soren’s company had got environmental clearance for this. project in September
Soren has two relevant departments – Forest, Environment and Climate Change, as well as Mining and Geology – himself.
Soren surrendered the lease on February 11, a day after Das’s allegations. In April, however, the slaves brought fresh allegations Against the Jharkhand CM, claiming that Soren had allotted 11 acres of land to his wife in the industrial cluster of Ranchi. Soren also holds the charge of the Industries Department of the state.
In a petition submitted to Jharkhand Governor Ramesh Bais in February, the BJP sought his disqualification on the basis of provisions of Section 9A of the Representation of the People Act., As the demand for disqualification of the CM from the Assembly gained momentum, the Governor sought the legal opinion of the Election Commission on the issue.
ThePrint looks at the political repercussions of the controversy.
read also, BJP loses sight of Jharkhand as trouble for CM Soren over mining lease charges
‘ECI, Governor have legal authority to take action’
Discussing the provisions of Section 9A of the Representation of the People Act, senior Supreme Court advocate Ajit Sinha told ThePrint, “I am not aware of the facts of the case, and I only know it which is in the public domain. From this I can say that if the allegations are proved, then the Election Commission and the Governor have the legal authority to take action. The deciding authority in such matters is the Election Commission.”
Another senior state government official said that “even though four out of the five provisions (of the Constitution) for disqualification are not applicable in the case, Section 9A of the Representation of the People Act can be considered by the Election Commission. But the matter is now between the ruling party and the Election Commission.”
Meanwhile, the Jharkhand High Court is hearing Public interest litigation A notice has been issued to the Chief Minister in this matter. During the hearing earlier this month, Advocate General Rajeev Ranjan Told The court said the state had made a “mistake” and “surrendered” the lease. case for the time being under consideration,
politico-legal crisis
While a third senior state official told ThePrint that no FIR or official complaint has been filed against Soren yet, the ruling Jharkhand Mukti Morcha has started exploring legal options to protect the chief minister.
“The allegations leveled by the BJP do not stand in the court of law. They are accusing the Chief Minister of violating Section 9A of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, as he issued an order allotting the mine to his company. But it was an administrative error, and when it was brought to his attention the chief minister corrected it,” JMM general secretary Supriyo Bhattacharya told ThePrint.
He added: “He also surrendered the leasehold of the mine. So where does the matter stand? We wrote a letter to the Governor two days ago, and we want him to forward our letter to the ECI, as he did in the case of the BJP.
Claiming that the party is now waiting for the Election Commission’s order seeking its presence and presentation in the matter, Bhattacharya said, “We want to present our case before the Commission. We are exploring legal options, but will not take a final call till we see the decision of the Election Commission. This is nothing but defamation of opposition leaders.”
Article 191 The constitution mentions five provisions under which a member of a state legislative assembly can be disqualified, said an expert on the constitution who is dealing with the state government who does not wish to be identified.
“The provisions include holding any office of profit (in Government), for infirmity, for insolvency, for relinquishing citizenship of India or applying for citizenship of a foreign country and under any other law made by Parliament. In this particular case, the only possibility of disqualification stems from the allotment of mine lease, which is a government property, by the Chief Minister himself to the company of the Chief Minister,” explained the expert.
He added, ,It is similar to getting benefits from a government office. The Governor has the right to forward any complaint alleging office of profit against any elected representative of the State Legislative Assembly for seeking legal opinion from the Election Commission. The Election Commission is the final authority and the Governor is bound by law to accept his decision.
A senior JMM leader claimed that the land for the mining lease was not a fresh allotment, but a “renewal”, and was announced to the ECI in the 2019 election affidavit.
According to the affidavit – available on the Election Commission’s website and a copy of which is with ThePrint – Soren has agricultural and non-agricultural land and immovable assets including commercial and residential buildings worth Rs 6.03 crore. The non-agricultural land includes “leasehold plot land at Angara Ranchi”, and the date of purchase is mentioned as March 2008.
However, rejecting the claim of “re-allotment”, a senior BJP leader alleged that the 0.88 acres of land in question was a new lease and the Election Commission is probing it.
(Edited by Polomi Banerjee)