RANCHI: The Election Commission (EC) has reportedly sent another letter to the Jharkhand governor with its recommendation in an office-of-profit case involving CM Hemant Soren’s younger brother and Dumka MLA Basant, but Raj Bhavan is maintaining its stoic silence on this one too. Governor Ramesh Bais has yet to take a call on EC’s opinion sent last month on allegations of CM Soren holding a mining lease while in office.
The second letter refuelled a political joust between BJP and the JMM-led coalition government on Saturday, although a Raj Bhavan source said the EC letter came on Friday in a “sealed envelope” and “it is still to be opened”.
MLA Basant Soren said: “I haven’t officially received any communication, either from EC or Raj Bhavan. But if the reports are true, I urge Raj Bhavan to make things clear without delay.”
With both the Soren brothers’ fate sealed in envelopes, political observers believed that the continued silence of Raj Bhavan may lead to further deterioration of the political environment and pressure would mount on the governor’s office from the alliance partners, especially JMM.
EC had initiated an office-of-profit case against Basant based on a complaint by the BJP state unit to the governor, alleging the lawmaker had concealed information in his election affidavit of being director of a mining company.
