Hemant Soren helped by Arvind Kejriwal in 'escaping' Delhi: BJP's big claim

BJP leader Nishikant Dubey on Tuesday alleged that Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal "helped" Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren in his "escape" from Delhi to Ranchi, referring to the two leaders as "thieves".

Hemant Soren's whereabouts were in question on Monday after Enforcement Directorate officials, who had arrived at his Delhi residence for questioning in a land fraud case, failed to locate him for nearly 30 hours.

Commenting on the situation, Nishikant Dubey in a post on X wrote, "According to the information, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal assisted in escorting Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren Ji from Delhi to Ranchi. This cooperation extended till Varanasi, after which Ranchi Minister Mithlesh Thakur helped take him (Hemant Soren) to Ranchi. 'Chor chor mausera bhai'"

Notably, on Tuesday, Soren chaired a closed-door meeting with MLAs and ministers of the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha-led ruling alliance amid speculation that the Chief Minister might be arrested by the ED.

Soren's wife, Kalpana Soren, was also present amid a strong buzz that she could take over the reins of the government if he were to be arrested.

Talking about Soren's meeting with state MLAs and ministers, the BJP leader said that consensus to appoint Kalpana Soren as the Chief Minister couldn't be reached.

He wrote in another post on X, "In Jharkhand, consensus could not be reached on the name of Kalpana Soren ji in the legislative party meeting. Sita Soren ji and Basant Soren ji came out in protest. Only 35 MLAs reached the meeting. The MLAs signed on plain paper. There is no program of Chief Minister Hemant ji to meet the Governor tomorrow. Maybe join the (ED) inquiry tomorrow?"

Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren surfaced in the state capital Ranchi on Tuesday, more than 30 hours after Enforcement Directorate sources said that they were unable to locate him. Soren has been asked by the probe agency to appear before it in a money laundering case linked to an alleged land scam.

Hemant Soren arrived at his official residence in Ranchi after the probe agency conducted searches at his official residence in Delhi on Monday and seized two luxury cars and Rs 36 lakh in cash.