Opposition protests Hemant Soren’s arrest with Parliament walkout

INDIA bloc takes united stand on the protest; TMC joins walkout despite its differences with the Congress and its decision to skip the coalition’s strategy meeting on Friday

Former Jharkhand CM and JMM executive president Hemant Soren being taken to Birsa Munda Birsa Munda Central Jail from PMLA Court, in Ranchi. | Photo Credit: ANI

Opposition MPs walked out of both Houses of Parliament on February 2, in protest against the arrest of former Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren by the Enforcement Directorate.

The decision to put up a united stand was taken at the INDIA bloc’s Parliamentary strategy meeting on Friday morning, the first meeting after the Janata Dal (United)’s exit from the bloc and the Trinamool Congress (TMC) announcement that it will not ally with the Congress in West Bengal for the Lok Sabha election.

The 10 a.m. meeting at the office of the Leader of Opposition and Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge had sparse attendance, reflecting the diminished ranks of the Opposition coalition.

TMC boycotts meet, joins walkout

The TMC — which has said it will stay within the coalition though it will not ally electorally with the Congress — was invited for the meeting, but decided not to attend. “You can’t play good cop in Delhi and bad cop in West Bengal. This is not how it works,” the TMC’s Rajya Sabha leader Derek O’ Brien said. The Congress’ Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra, which concluded its West Bengal leg on Friday, had also seen the participation of Communist Party of India (Marxist) state secretary Mohammed Salim, further precipitating the tensions between the Congress and TMC.

Their differences with the Congress, however, did not stop Trinamool MPs from also walking out of Parliament to protest Mr. Soren’s arrest. 

Double standards: Kharge

In the Rajya Sabha, Mr. Kharge noted that the Jharkhand Governor had not shown the alacrity of his Bihar counterpart, despite similar situations in both States over the past week. In Bihar, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar had resigned from the JD(U)-RJD coalition government to switch his party’s loyalties to the BJP-led National Development Alliance. “A new government was formed and he was again sworn-in as the Chief Minister, all in a matter of 12 hours,” said Mr. Kharge. “But in Jharkhand, when Mr. Soren resigned on Wednesday, no interim arrangement was made,” he said. It took the Jharkhand governor 20 hours to call the JMM leader Champai Soren to accept his bid for the post. “This is how the Constitution is being shredded to pieces,” the Congress chief added. 

The Treasury Benches jeered the walkout, with Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman asserting that the Opposition parties had walked out in “support of thecorruption”.