Enforcement Directorate searches premises linked to Jharkhand Minister, associates in money laundering case

CM Hemant Soren says the raids are no longer unexpected in Jharkhand, calls the Central agency active workers of the BJP

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Monday searched several premises linked to Jharkhand Minister Mithilesh Thakur and his associates in a money laundering case related to alleged irregularities in the implementation of Jal Jivan Mission, a Centre-sponsored scheme.

Mr. Thakur, who is the Drinking Water and Sanitation Minister in Chief Minister Hemant Soren’s Cabinet, termed it a ‘political raid’. The Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) leader said the pressure was building up on him to join the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), and that the raids followed his refusal to join the party.

The ED searched premises at 20 locations in Ranchi and Chaibasa of West Singhbhum district, including those linked to IAS officer Manish Ranjan, Mr. Thakur’s personal secretary Harendra Singh, brother Vinay Thakur, and a businessman named Vedant Khirwal.

Incidentally, while addressing the closing ceremony of BJP’s Parivartan Maharally organised at Gandhi Maidan in Hazaribagh On October 2, Prime Minister Narendra Modi alleged that the Jharkhand government was not shying away from committing corruption even in the schemes of the Central government and embezzling the money meant for the poor.

Talking to reporters in Ranchi, Mr. Thakur said, “We have become used to such raids. It is not an ED raid; it is a political raid. They [BJP] have failed in people’s court and now they are using the Central agencies against us. ED must maintain transparency, and should not become a puppet and follow others’ instructions.”

He further said, “Pressure was building on me to join BJP even before the Lok Sabha election from different fronts. I had categorically told them that I would never take that decision [to join BJP] under any pressure. If they can put the Chief Minister in jail for five months, I also don’t mind going to jail for two to three years.”

Saying that the raid was only meant “to threaten us”, Mr. Thakur, who represents the Garhwa constituency in the Assembly, said that the ED must reveal what they found at his and his PA’s residences during the searches. “ED must brief the media what kind of illegal documents they found, and the value of illegal cash, gold, diamond and silver they seized. They only conduct raids to threaten us but JMM leaders are not afraid of anyone,” he said.

Meanwhile, Chief Minister Hemant Soren has said that “the story of raids these days is no longer unexpected”. Interacting with reporters at Project Bhawan, he said, “The story of raids these days is no longer unexpected. We have elections and the main active workers [referring to ED] of our Opposition [read BJP] come out.”

The JMM, in a post on X, said, “Even after bringing leaders from all over India, Babulal ji [Jharkhand BJP president Babulal Marandi] could not learn the basics. If you have the courage, then fight in the open - how long will you fight behind the back with the help of these agencies. They are misusing all the constitutional institutions. The people of Jharkhand will give a befitting reply to this dictatorship.”

Published - October 14, 2024 09:57 pm IST