Won't quit politics, open to floating new outfit: Champai Soren
Ranchi, Aug 21: Former Jharkhand chief minister Champai Soren on Wednesday said he would not quit politics, asserting that an option to float a new political outfit was always open to him.
Soren said he was firm on his plans after "facing humiliation at the hands of leaders of JMM", a party to which the veteran leader claimed that he devoted his entire life.
"It is a new chapter of my life. I won't quit politics as I have received lots of love and support from my followers. I had mentioned three options - quitting politics, organisation or friend. I will not quit politics. The chapter (of quitting politics) has closed, I may form a new outfit," the senior Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) leader said shortly after he reached his ancestral village Jhilingora in Seraikela-Kharsawan district.
The 67-year-old tribal leader has earned the nickname 'Jharkhand's Tiger' for his contribution to the fight to create a separate state in the 1990s.
Jharkhand was carved out of the southern part of Bihar in 2000.
"No one from JMM contacted me. This is the land of Jharkhand...I have struggled since my student life. I participated in the agitation for a separate Jharkhand state under the leadership of party supremo Shibu Soren," Champai Soren said.
The JMM leader said he might join hands with any outfit if he gets a like-minded organisation or a friend during his next journey.
"I will strengthen the party, a new party and if I meet a good friend on the way, then I will move ahead with the friend...", he said.
Referring to his post on X on August 18, the former chief minister said, "I posted what I felt was proper. The entire country is aware of what I thought."
Amid speculations that he might join the BJP, the veteran politician had said he experienced "bitter humiliation" as chief minister, which compelled him to seek an alternative path.
"After so much humiliation, I was forced to look for an alternative path," Champai Soren had said, alleging that all his government programmes in the first week of July were abruptly cancelled by the party leadership without his knowledge.
"When I enquired about the reasons for cancellation, I was informed that there was a meeting of party legislators on July 3 and that I could not attend any government programme until then," he had said.
He had asked, "Can there be anything more humiliating in a democracy than having a chief minister's programme cancelled by another person?"
Soren claimed that although the CM had the authority to call a meeting of the legislative party, he was not even informed of the meeting's agenda.
"During the (July 3) meeting, I was asked to resign. I was taken aback. Since I had no desire for power, I resigned immediately. However, my self-respect was deeply hurt," Soren had added.
The ex-CM said he had announced in the legislative party meeting that "a new chapter in my life is going to begin from today".
"From that day until now, and through the upcoming Jharkhand Assembly elections, all options are open for me in this journey," he said.
Champai Soren assumed office as the 12th CM of Jharkhand on February 2, shortly after his predecessor Hemant Soren resigned just before being arrested by the Enforcement Directorate in a money laundering case.
Hemant Soren was released from jail on June 28 after being granted bail by the high court. On July 3, he was elected as the JMM's legislature party leader.
Champai Soren subsequently submitted his resignation letter to the governor, paving the way for Hemant Soren to be sworn in as chief minister for the third time.
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Jan Suraaj to contest all 243 seats in Bihar: Prashant Kishor
Purnea (Bihar), Sep 12: Political strategist-turned-activist Prashant Kishor on Thursday said Jan Suraaj, which is set to become a political party in less than a month from now, will contest "all 243 seats" in the Bihar assembly polls due next year.
Addressing a press conference in Purnea district, Kishor said the party will be formed on October 2 "with active support of at least one crore people of the state, which would leave no need for any alliance".
"Let me make it clear that Jan Suraaj will contest all 243 seats, not one less", said Kishor, who has in his earlier avatar handled poll campaigns of leaders such as Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and Aam Aadmi Party founder Arvind Kejriwal.
A known critic of the much touted prohibition law in Bihar, the IPAC founder said the new party would "scrap the ban on liquor within an hour of forming its government".
"The prohibition law is nothing but a sham (dhakosla) on part of Nitish Kumar," he said.
He criticised the current prohibition as ineffective, claiming that it has led to illegal home deliveries of alcohol and deprived the state of Rs 20,000 crore in potential excise revenue.
Kishor accused politicians and bureaucrats of benefiting from the illegal liquor trade.
The 47-year-old said he is a believer in "kabiliyat ki rajniti (politics of merit)" and would not shy away from speaking against prohibition "like other parties which fear that doing so may cost them votes of women".
Kishor said he saw Nitish Kumar and his predecessor Lalu Prasad as responsible for Bihar's plight though Congress and BJP too shared the blame.
"The Congress turned a blind eye towards the misdeeds of Lalu Prasad since his RJD was a valuable ally of the previous UPA government. It helped him remain in power though the RJD never had a majority in assembly", recounted Kishor.
He pointed out that "same is the case with Nitish Kumar whose JD(U) has never won a clear mandate. The BJP, under Prime Minister Narendra Modi, which is so fond of splitting other parties to form its own government in Maharashtra, remains content with playing second fiddle to Nitish Kumar in Bihar".
Asked about Rahul Gandhi's statement on reservations, which has drawn flak from the BJP, Kishor quipped, "I wonder if the Congress leader remains mindful of what he is saying. If what has been reported is correct, then he seems to be going back on the stance he had adopted during the recent Lok Sabha polls which saw him pressing the demand for caste census so vehemently".
