NEW DELHI, 31 July 2004 — Former Union minister and Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) chief, Shibu Soren made public appearance yesterday after remaining underground for nearly 10 days to evade an arrest warrant issued over his alleged involvement in a 1975 mob killing of 10 people.
Soren’s first reaction was against the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP), whom he charged with hatching a conspiracy against him by raking up a 30-year-old case. “I did not run away. I was always among the people. I was in forest”, he told reporters a day after Jharkhand High Court asked him to surrender by Aug. 2.
Asserting that the case was “politically motivated”, Soren said BJP used its Chief Minister Arjun Munda to rake up an old case against him. “They (BJP) had plans to make Jharkhand another Gujarat and win the assembly elections. But I stopped that,” the JMM leader said and claimed that “BJP will be wiped-out in forthcoming assembly polls,” said
Asked when will he surrender as ordered by the high court, he said there was no question of surrendering. “I am already fighting a legal battle. I know the court had given time till Aug. 2, I will talk to my legal advisers and party men and chalk-out the future course of action.” said the former coal and mines minister. Soren gave no time for his surrender but his aides said he could give himself up on Monday.
Soren insisted that he remained away from the public in order to protect his people and avoid another Gujarat. “By conspiring to arrest me, the BJP wanted to create unrest in the state and defame my party. But I advised my supporters not to resort to violence,” he said.
The JMM leader sought to make it clear he bore no hard feelings against Prime Minister Manmohan Singh for asking him to quit as minister. “He is a nice person; he did not ask for my resignation under any pressure. He did it because he thought that was proper. “The BJP only wants to defame (Congress president) Sonia Gandhi and the prime minister”.
Soren was noncommittal when asked whether other “tainted” ministers targeted by the BJP should also be out of the government.
With his large following among tribals and the Jharkhand elections just a few months away, Soren took up the theme that he was a victim of a conspiracy and the crime he has been accused of was a tribal uprising.
“I am an adivasi (native) and the BJP and the coal mafia schemed to get me out of the government,” he said.
The JMM was to meet later yesterday to discuss its strategy and the way to go about the surrender. JMM sources said Soren would first go to Bokaro where he has a permanent residence and then move to Dumka. From Dumka he would proceed to Jamtara to surrender before the court Monday, said the sources.
Fifty-nine of the accused in the 1975 Chiruddih massacre case had surrendered in the court after a directive in 1986. But Soren and nine others did not. After a fresh warrant was issued in the case on July 17, Soren went “underground”, sparking an opposition furor and embarrassing the government.
He submitted his resignation last week after being asked by the prime minister to do so. The high court Thursday deemed the July 17 warrant issued against Soren as illegal but upheld the previous warrant in 1986 and ordered him to appear before the court.
— Additional input from agencies
