Highlights: Despite ED heat, Hemant Soren Says 'Won't Resign'

Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) MLAs have started arriving for party's legislative meeting as speculations are around that Chief Minister Hemant Soren may resign and handover command to his wife Kalpana Soren amid ED raids taking place against close aides of chief minister in illegal mining cases. 

Earlier, Jharkhand MLA from Gandey, Sarfaraz Ahmed, resigned from the assembly and his resignation was accepted by Soren. 

However, Ahmad’s resignation as an MLA triggered speculations in the state political circles as it came a day after the Enforcement Directorate (ED) issued its seventh summons to Chief Minister and JMM executive president Hemant Soren, seeking his availability for questioning in a money laundering case linked to an alleged land scam. 

The ED’s probe in this case reportedly pertains to the alleged “huge racket of illegal change of ownership of land by the mafia” in Jharkhand.

Chief Minister Soren was issued a "last opportunity" by the Directorate of Enforcement (ED) on December 30 last year, to record his statement in an alleged land scam. Soren said the summons was 'illegal'. It was the 7th summons issued to Soren by the ED under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 asking him to record his statement. He has so far skipped six summons. Soren was first summoned by the ED earlier in mid-August in connection with a land 'scam' case. However, the CM ignored the summons, claiming that he was busy with the state's Independence Day celebrations. 

"The legislators are expected to deliberate over the prevailing political environment in the state. It would be premature to comment on the agenda of the meeting. It will become clear whether the legislators discuss having a new face or continuing with the old only in the meeting", said JMM general secretary Vinod Pandey.