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Champai Soren took oath as Jharkhand Chief Minister on Thursday

Ranchi:

Former Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren arrived in assembly today amid tight security as Champai Soren – who stepped into his shoes after his arrest – faced a trust vote

A special court in Ranchi had allowed Hemant Soren, also the Executive President of the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) to take part in the trust vote – a litmus test for the Champai Sore-led government.

Mr Soren pleaded before the court that he is a member of the assembly and has a right to participate in the special session which is crucial for his party.

Champai Soren, veteran leader of the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha, took oath as the new Chief Minister of Jharkhand on Thursday, a day after Hemant Soren was arrested.

The Enforcement Directorate has alleged that Hemant Soren is involved in a Rs 600-crore land scam and the laundering of its proceeds.

The land scam involves a “huge racket” to change of ownership of government land and selling it to builders, the agency has alleged.

The agency has so far arrested 14 people in the case, including 2011-batch IAS officer Chhavi Ranjan who served as the director of the state Social Welfare Department and deputy commissioner of Ranchi.

Mr Soren has claimed that he is the target of a huge conspiracy.

“The BJP conspiracy against him has succeeded for a while. But our government has majority and will continue,” said state minster Mithilesh Thakur.

The Jharkhand Assembly has 81 members, meaning the majority mark is 41.

The JMM-Congress-RJD alliance has 47 MLAs, of whom 29 are from Mr Soren’s party and 17 are from the Congress. The RJD of former Bihar Chief Minister Lalu Yadav has one.

The BJP has 25 MLAs and the AJSU, or All Jharkhand Students Union, has three. The remaining seats are divided between the NCP and a Left party (one each) and there are three independent MLAs.