New Delhi: Jharkhand Governor CP Radhakrishnan has refuted allegations of Raj Bhavan's involvement in the arrest of former Chief Minister Hemant Soren by the Enforcement Directorate's (ED) in connection with a money laundering case linked to an alleged land fraud, as reported by PTI. Soren was taken into custody by the federal agency after seven hours of interrogation on January 31.
"There is no question of misuse of Raj Bhavan. Every democratic norm has been very strictly followed by us. The former chief minister himself has agreed in his letter that he resigned before being taken to ED custody," said Governor CP Radhakrishnan, PTI reported. During a press conference, he also said, "I never know who the ED people are, I don't know their names or faces, I saw them for a few minutes, If you want me to identify them, I will not recognize them."
Further, Radhakrishnan added that the CMO announced Soren's resignation, not Raj Bhavan.
"It was the ED's phone to our principal secretary saying we have taken custody of your CM and he is requesting us to complete his constitutional obligations of resigning. So, we are coming to Raj Bhavan so that he can resign. This is the first message we got. The second message came from the chief secretary saying he is the chief minister, then my principal secretary said he is the chief minister till he resigns. The CMO also informed me that he is going to resign today, I kept waiting for three hours," PTI quoted the governor as saying.
Radhakrishnan added that the chief secretary dialed his principal secretary saying the CM could not go with the ED, therefore some of the senior ministers should be allowed to go along with him. "I told him three of the most senior ministers can accompany," he added.
During his participation in the trust vote, Hemant Soren claimed that Raj Bhavan played a crucial role in his arrest, suggesting a "conspiracy" orchestrated by the Centre.