Congress protests Hemant Soren’s refusal to leave India during the bloc’s unity display

On Sunday, Mallikarjun Kharge, the president of the Congress, claimed that Hemant Soren was detained by the ED and forced to quit his position as chief minister of Jharkhand because he refused to give in to pressure and sever his links to the India bloc in favor of the BJP.

Leaders of the INDIA bloc assembled at the ‘Ulgulan (uprising) Nyay Rally’ in Ranchi today to demonstrate support for Arvind Kejriwal, the detained chief minister of Delhi and leader of the AAP, as well as Hemant Soren, the head of the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM). Hemant Soren’s wife read out the former chief minister’s statement from prison, declaring that “democracy couldn’t be allowed to fail,” while Kejriwal’s wife said efforts were being made to “kill” her husband in jail by depriving him of insulin during the demonstration.

In addition to Kharge, those in attendance at the rally included JMM supremo Shibu Soren, National Conference president Farooq Abdullah, RJD leader and former Bihar Deputy CM Tejashwi Yadav, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann, Jharkhand CM Champai Soren, AAP leader Sanjay Singh, and Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Priyanka Chaturvedi.

According to the rally’s organizers, representatives from 28 different parties were there.

“Indian bloc leaders are powerful people. Under the pressure of the BJP, they refuse to budge. Hemant Soren was intimidated by the BJP, but he would sooner go to prison than split the coalition or leave it. Soren wants to grow the coalition. For that, I appreciate him,” Kharge said.

“Everyone who is prepared to fight (the BJP) will have our support.” In 2024, we shall defeat Modi. Modi enjoys projecting an air of invincibility. That is untrue. The BJP had already adopted the motto “India Shining” and seemed to have established a conducive environment. But the president of Congress said, “They lost in the polls.” Rahul Gandhi, the head of the Congress, was scheduled to attend the event but was unable to do so due to health issues, according to Kharge.

On stage were two vacant seats, one for Hemant Soren and one for Kejriwal. Seated on the dais were Hemant Soren’s wife, Kalpana Soren, and Arvind Kejriwal’s wife, Sunita Kejriwal.

Sunita said that in an attempt to “kill” the Delhi chief minister, the BJP administration was attempting to create issues with Kejriwal’s diet and insulin. “Every bite of food he eats is being watched… He has been taking 50 units of insulin daily for the last 12 years as a patient with diabetes. However, he is not receiving insulin in prison. They’re after Delhi’s chief minister,” she said.

In a statement from prison that his wife Kalpana read out at the gathering, Hemant Soren said that although the BJP was attempting to overthrow governments in states where the opposition was in power, democracy must not be allowed to collapse.