Champai Soren- Jharkhand's New CM, And Hemant Soren’s ED Arrestment

Jharkhand Governor C.P. Radhakrishnan invited Champai Soren to form the government on February 1. Champai took oath as the Chief Minister on February 2.

• On January 31, Hemant Soren, the Chief Minister of Jharkhand, was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). After his arrest, he met with the Governor and submitted his resignation. 

Who is the New CM of Jharkhand?

• Champai Soren, a senior leader of the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) and also the Transport Minister, has been elected as an MLA from Seraikela for five consecutive terms. 
• In the 1990s, he actively participated in the movement for the creation of a separate state of Jharkhand, along with JMM patron Shibu Soren.

Why did ED arrest Hemant Soren?

• On January 31, the Enforcement Directorate arrested Hemant Soren for his alleged involvement in a land scam case. 
• Soren had recently resigned from his position as the Chief Minister of Jharkhand. The ED officials had questioned him for over seven hours at his official residence in Ranchi, following which he had resigned. 
• Jharkhand Governor C.P. Radhakrishnan has accepted his resignation. 
• The case is related to the alleged purchase and sale of tribal land by forging documents between 2020 and 2022.

Is CM immune from arrest?

• While the President and state governors are immune from civil and criminal proceedings as long as they hold their office and are given protection from arrest, a sitting Chief Minister does not enjoy such protection. 
• This means that if an investigating agency has enough reason to take action against a Chief Minister, he can be arrested.

What are the options available to the Governor?

Hung Assembly:

• In a parliamentary election, if no political party or alliance wins an absolute majority, it is called a hung parliament. In this situation, no party can form a government without support from other political parties. 
• The Governor invites the leader of the single largest party to form the government and usually gives them 10 days to show an absolute majority. 
• If the party fails to show a majority in the allotted time, the Governor dissolves the parliament and calls for re-election.

External Support:

• If a party or alliance doesn't have an absolute majority, they can seek external support from another political party to form the government. 
• The party offering external support isn't usually part of the government and their politicians don't hold ministerial positions. 
• However, governments formed using external support tend to be fragile and vulnerable as there is no commitment from the party providing external support.

Minority Government:

A minority government is one where the government doesn’t have an absolute majority and therefore, cannot pass laws without the votes of parties not participating in the government.

Directorate of Enforcement or ED

• The Directorate of Enforcement was founded in 1956, and it comes under the Union Ministry of Finance. 
• Its primary responsibility is to enforce the criminal provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) 2022, the Fugitive Economic Offenders Act 2018, and the civil sections of the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) 1999.
• Headquarters: New Delhi.