Monday February 5, the regional government of Jharkhand state, in the north of the country, had to immediately appoint a new leader, after the leader was arrested by federal police on Friday. Hemant Soren is the fourth regional minister from a party opposing the central government to be arrested in recent months. And this hunt seems to be intensifying three months before the legislative elections. What is this head of government accused of?
From our correspondent in New Delhi,
Hemant Soren is accused of two cases of corruption and money laundering: the first case related to the resale of potentially dubious land, and the other case related to alleged illegal mining permits in the state of Jharkhand. In both cases, the federal agency that fights financial crimes, called the Law Enforcement Directorate, believes that the head of this regional government was one of the beneficiaries of this corruption, and agents arrested him on Friday. Hemant Soren denies this fact, and even insists that the amount of ore that police say he has taken is unrealistic. But he was placed in pre-trial detention, and is expected to remain in prison for months, weakening the regional government led for five years by Prime Minister Narendra Modi's opposition party.
Other opposition leaders face prosecution
Three other senior ministers and a senator from opposition parties in Delhi or Bengal were detained, some for nearly two years. Many local leaders have been the subject of investigations carried out by these powerful institutions, with information leaked to the media influencing voters in local elections. And one of the main figures of the national opposition, the head of the Delhi government, Arvind Kejriwal, is about to be arrested. It should be noted that none of these allegations have been proven in court.
How will the ruling BJP respond?
He assured that the investigation was independent, but the powerful Law Enforcement Directorate agency is controlled by his government, and a recent investigation by the newspaper Indian Express shows its bias: the report reveals that the agency has carried out 121 prosecutions since the BJP came to power in 2014, and 95% of them relate to opposition leaders. Under the previous government, nearly half of investigations targeted members of the ruling coalition. In the current situation, prosecutions generally stop as soon as the opposition leader joins the ruling party.
What impact will this have on the legislative elections which will be held in less than three months?
First, practically: opposition leaders will have difficulty campaigning, as their property is confiscated by federal agencies, it becomes difficult to make campaign contributions, or their leaders are arrested. And in terms of image too: The Prime Minister used this arrest to accuse the opposition of corruption, while his party was not suspected. And it seems to be working: Narendra Modi is seen as an honest man – and in a country where corruption is an endemic problem – this appears to be an attractive exception to the Indian electorate, who will elect their new representative between April and May of this year. front. .
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