Former Jharkhand Chief Minister Champai Soren | (Photo: PTI)
Former Jharkhand Chief Minister Champai Soren, who joined the BJP last month, on Wednesday accused the Hemant Soren government in the state of putting his life at risk by withdrawing all security vehicles assigned to him.
The former Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) leader alleged that the withdrawal of his security vehicles was a political conspiracy.
However, the state police dismissed the charges, saying five vehicles are still providing security to the former prime minister, who also uses the services of 63 police officers.
“The Jharkhand government has withdrawn all the security vehicles allocated to me, putting my life in danger, under a political conspiracy. I am not afraid of this move. The people of Jharkhand would provide me security,” Champai Soren told PTI.
He stressed that he has never compromised on his values and that the people will give a fitting response to the JMM-led coalition in the elections to be held later this year.
Asked about Chief Minister Hemant Soren’s remarks that the BJP has bought political leaders in Jharkhand, Champai Soren said, “Nobody dares to buy me. I have made the circumstances behind quitting JMM crystal clear.”
Champai Soren joined the BJP alleging that he was ‘humiliated’ and ‘disrespected’ by the JMM.
Responding to Champai Soren’s remarks, the state government said the allegation about withdrawal of all security vehicles is baseless as five cars are still allotted to him.
Police said in a statement that four other vehicles have been recalled because they are part of the CM fleet and cannot be deployed elsewhere.
It was said that the former CM still has the services of 63 security personnel, including six bodyguards from the Special Service.
Champai Soren also posted on X: “The state government has ignored all rules and protocols and recalled the vehicles used for my security. I don’t need any kind of security among my people in Jharkhand. The people of the state will answer this political conspiracy of playing with the security of a former CM.
(Only the headline and image of this report may have been edited by Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
First publication: Sep 25, 2024 | 9:10 PM IST