Ranchi:

Union Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Thursday reacted to Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren’s statement and said that the BJP neither harasses nor protects anyone, adding that Jharkhand Mukti Morcha has harassed Champai Soren by making him the Chief Minister for a few days.

“BJP neither harasses nor protects, investigation agencies do their job, they have harassed Champai Soren by making him the Chief Minister for a few days. What would have happened if he had remained the Chief Minister for a few more days? This makes it clear that they want only one family to rule. The hunger for power is such that if they come back, they will not stay without a chair for even two days,” Mr Chouhan told reporters.

“The BJP is in the field with full force and will establish good governance again by winning the elections here,” he added.

The floor test of the new government in Jharkhand, led by Chief Minister Hemant Soren, who took oath of office for the third time on Thursday, will be held on July 8 during a special session of the Jharkhand Legislative Assembly.

Earlier today, Hemant Soren was sworn-in as the 13th Chief Minister of Jharkhand in Raj Bhavan, Ranchi.

In a veiled attack on the BJP, Jharkhand Mukti Morcha executive president Hemant Soren slammed the BJP and said that the “arrogant people intoxicated with power” tried to “silence” him but with the support of the people, he was released from jail.

Hemant Soren was granted bail by the Jharkhand High Court on June 28 after spending five months in jail.

Before he took the oath, he posted a video message on X in which he slammed “arrogant people intoxicated with power (BJP) who tried to silence me” and said, “Today, the public opinion of the people of Jharkhand will rise again. Jai Jharkhand, Jai Hind.”

“Today is July 4. On January 31, from the same place, I conveyed a message to you all on how the opposition has conspired against me. They were successful. For five months, they tried to keep me inside the jail by different means. We took the legal path and people supported us. The people of the state supported us and at last the court released me from jail,” said Hemant Soren in a video message before taking oath as Jharkhand CM.

He further said that the opposition put him in jail by levelling false allegations.

“In the 2019 Jharkhand Assembly Elections, the people of Jharkhand gave our party mandate but the conspirators were unable to digest how an Adivasi youngster can sit in such a high position. At last, on January 31, they (the BJP) put false allegations on me and removed me from the post of Chief Minister. Because of the people’s blessings, I’m here out sitting in front of you. We will always be the voice of the people. Today, the public opinion of the people of Jharkhand will rise again. By taking charge, the work will be carried out again,” he said.

Earlier today, Hemant Soren arrived at the oath ceremony, with JMM national president Shibu Soren arrived at the Raj Bhavan in Ranchi.

Jharkhand Governor CP Radhakrishnan administered the oath of office to Soren.

Soren, on June 28, was released on bail in a land scam case after spending around five months in jail.

Champai Soren resigned from the post just five months after taking the oath, setting the ball rolling for Hemant Soren to again take over the role on Wednesday.

Champai Soren took oath as the 12th Chief Minister of Jharkhand in the Raj Bhavan on February 2 this year.

Hemant Soren was released from the Birsa Munda Jail on June 28 after nearly five months following bail from Jharkhand High Court in a money laundering case linked to an alleged land scam. He had resigned as Chief Minister before his arrest on January 31.

He was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in January on charges related to an alleged land scam and money laundering.

Earlier on December 29, Hemant Soren took the oath as Chief Minister of Jharkhand as the 11th Chief Minister of Jharkhand.

The event was termed as ‘Sankalp Diwas’ by mark the beginning of an era of new Jharkhand.

Hemant Soren’s return as CM will bolster the JMM, which won three seats in the tribal-dominated state of Jharkhand in the Lok Sabha elections.

In 2019, JMM fought the assembly elections in alliance with the Congress and Lalu Prasad’s Rashtriya Janta Dal (RJD) and got a comfortable majority with forty-seven seats in the 81-member house.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)