Himalaya Harbinger National Bureau.
In a poignant address during the 51st foundation day celebration of the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM), Kalpana Soren, wife of former Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren, broke down while shedding light on her husband’s incarceration. At the event, she revealed, “I’m standing here with a heavy heart… My father-in-law (Shibu Soren) and my mother-in-law are in pain… I had decided I would control tears…I’m getting energy from you.”
Accusing the Centre of orchestrating a conspiracy against her husband, Kalpana passionately stated, “They (Centre) hatched such a big conspiracy due to which Hemant Soren had to go to jail. People who sit in Delhi do not have a heart. They consider tribal, dalit, and minority as insects and think that they can do anything with them.”
Expressing her dismay, she questioned the alleged motives behind her husband’s imprisonment, asking, “Is it a crime to seek Jharkhand’s ₹1.36 lakh-crore from the Centre or passing a Bill in the assembly seeking 27 per cent reservation for OBCs? Is it a crime to ask for a separate Sarna religion code, ensuring domicile policy for waiving farmers’ loans, or bringing back laborers from other states by airplane, buses, and trains?”
Amidst the Supreme Court’s recent verdict on the JMM bribery case, Kalpana highlighted the challenges faced by her family. The court ruled that MPs and MLAs do not enjoy immunity from prosecution for taking bribes to make a speech or cast a vote in the legislature.
Recalling the Supreme Court’s involvement in a case concerning Sita Soren, a JMM MLA embroiled in the bribery scandal, the news unfolded. The bench, led by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi, acknowledged the case’s public implications and referred it to a five-judge panel for further consideration. Sita Soren, accused of accepting bribes during the 2012 Rajya Sabha election, argued for the constitutional immunity granted to lawmakers, a shield previously protecting her father-in-law Shibu Soren.
Challenging the Jharkhand High Court’s decision from February 17, 2014, which declined to dismiss criminal charges against her, Sita Soren sought relief from the Supreme Court. The three-judge bench expressed a willingness to reassess the earlier ruling concerning Shibu Soren and other JMM MPs accused of accepting bribes to vote against a no-confidence motion in the Narasimha Rao government in 1993.
Despite the case filed by the CBI, the Supreme Court had previously dismissed it, citing the immunity granted to lawmakers under Article 105(2) of the Constitution.
As Jharkhand grapples with these legal complexities, Kalpana Soren urged the public to demonstrate their resilience through votes, declaring, “In the future, we must demonstrate through our votes that ‘Jharkhand Jhukega Nahi’ (Jharkhand will not bow)…They have played with the self-respect of every person in Jharkhand by putting him in jail. A befitting reply will be given to them in the coming days.”
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