Like Ambedkar, Adivasis & Dalits may have to ‘move out’ & embrace Buddhism, says Hemant Soren

JMM leader asserts that he was ‘captured in a very planned manner’ & that ‘script’ of his arrest was done a very long time ago – ‘from 2022 itself’.

NEELAM PANDEY

New Delhi: Former Jharkhand chief minister and JMM leader Hemant Soren, who is currently in the custody of the Enforcement Directorate (ED), claimed Monday that the Raj Bhavan was involved in his arrest.

Addressing the Assembly ahead of the vote of trust in which his coalition proved majority, Soren said: “Mai aansu nahi bahaunga, aansu waqt ke liye rakhunga. Aap logo ke liye aansu ka koi mol nahi. Adivasi, dalito ka, pichado, ka koi mol nahi hai. Waqt aane par hum inke ek ek sawaalon ka jawaab aur inke ek ek sharyantra ka jawab badi maqool tarah se diya jayega (I will not shed tears. There is no value for the tears of Adivasis, Dalits and other marginalised in the country. I will give a befitting answer to the injustices when time comes).”

Soren, who was arrested on 31 January, is currently in five-day custody of the ED since 2 February. The ED has accused the JMM executive president of being a key beneficiary in alleged land-related irregularities in Ranchi.

Terming 31 January as a “black chapter” that was added to Indian democracy, Soren said this was perhaps the first time a chief minister has been arrested.

Soren accused the Raj Bhavan of being instrumental in his arrest after “a conspiracy was hatched by them (Centre)”. He also said they did not want a tribal chief minister to complete five years in Jharkhand and that they did not allow this during its regimes, too.

“I think this is the first time and I feel the Raj Bhavan was involved in this episode. I come from a tribal background… I may not know much about law and regulations and our intellectual capacity might not be of the level of the opposition (BJP) but every human being and even animals can distinguish between right and wrong,” he said.

Soren further said the “script” behind 31 January was written in a very planned manner, and for a very long time – “from 2022 itself”. “These people have captured me in a very planned manner.”

The former chief minister said “the manner in which Baba Bhimrao Ambekdar who had dreamt that all sections of the society (religion, caste sect) are able to come together on one platform, I feel that the way he had to embrace Buddhism (by giving up his religion) something similar is being planned for the Adivasis and the Dalit in the future.”

Launching a scathing attack on the BJP-led Centre, Soren said they had hatred for adivasis and Dalits. “The system created by them doesn’t even hesitate in saying that they (adivasis) come from the jungle and should stay there.”

“Where does so much malice come from in their minds? This is beyond my understanding. The systems nurtured by them are not shy in saying they were in the jungle, so they should remain in the jungle. We came out of the forest and sat next to them. Jharkhand is a tribal and Dalit-dominated backward state. We left no stone unturned to take it forward,” he added.

“They would want us to remain in the jungle and live there as their clothes started getting stained when we sat next to them,” he said. “If our opponents have their way, we will again have to go to the forest and live a 100 year old life. I was aware of it.”

Soren, who was granted permission by a court to participate in Monday’s trust vote, defiantly said he had not accepted defeat. “They think that by putting me behind bars, they will succeed in their plans. But this is Jharkhand. This is a state where in every corner an adivasi, dalit, and backward class (soldiers) have given up their lives to save those of other adivasis and dalits.”

He added the tribals of Jharkhand fought for their rights at a time when the country was not even dreaming about freedom.

The former chief minister also said if any evidence of corruption was found against him in the land deal, he would leave Jharkhand. “Today I have been arrested on charges of an 8.5-acre land scam. If they have the courage, then show documents of that land registered in my name. If it is proved, I will quit politics and leave Jharkhand.”

Meanwhile, Soren’s colleague and chief minister Champai Soren proved his majority in the 81-member Jharkhand Assembly on Monday. The JMM-led coalition, also comprising the Congress and the Rashtriya Janata Dal, defeated the Opposition 47-29.

Champai Soren was sworn in two days after Hemant Soren’s resignation last week.

(Edited by Tikli Basu)

Courtesy : The Print

Note: This news piece was originally published in theprint.com and used purely for non-profit/non-commercial purposes exclusively for Human Righ