'Welcome to NDA family': Union Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi amid Champai Soren's next move

Amid suspense over former Jharkhand Chief Minister Champai Soren's next move, Union Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi on Sunday "welcomed" him in the "NDA family. "In a post on X, he described Soren as a "tiger" and said that he was and will "remain a tiger."

"Champai da, you were a tiger, you are a tiger and you will remain a tiger. Welcome to the NDA family. Johar Tiger," Jitan Ram Manjhi posted on X.

Earlier, former Jharkhand Chief Minister Champai Soren said that he was "insulted" during his tenure, adding that till the upcoming Jharkhand Assembly polls, "all options are open for him". He also listed various instances when he was not allowed to call a meeting of the legislative party and was asked to resign suddenly, prompting him "to look for an alternative path".

In a long post on X, Champai Soren said that he has always done politics of public concern from raising the voice of workers against industrial houses at the beginning of his public life to the Jharkhand movement. "I have been trying to get the rights of the tribals, natives, poor, labourers, students and people of backward classes of the state. Whether I held any post or not, I was always available to the public, raising the issues of those people who had dreamt of a better future with the state of Jharkhand," he said."Meanwhile, on January 31, after an unprecedented turn of events, the India Alliance chose me to serve the state as the 12th Chief Minister of Jharkhand. From the first day of my tenure to the last day (July 3), I discharged my duties towards the state with full devotion and dedication. During this period, we took many decisions in the public interest and, as always, were always available for everyone. The people of the state will evaluate the decisions we took keeping in mind the elders, women, youth, students and every section of the society and every person of the state," he added.

Champai Soren, further asserted that during his tenure, he never did anything wrong to anyone, nor allowed anyone to do wrong. "Meanwhile, the day after Hal Diwas, I came to know that all my programs for the next two days have been postponed by the party leadership. One of these, was a public program in Dumka, while the other was to distribute appointment letters to PGT teachers. On asking, I came to know that a meeting of the legislative party has been called by the coalition on July 3, till then you cannot attend any program as CM," Soren said.

"Can there be anything more humiliating in a democracy than a Chief Minister's programmes being cancelled by another person?" he listed out the bitter experiences he faced during his tenure.

The former Jharkhand CM, who has had a spotless political journey over the last four decades, has been completely broken from within."I could not understand what to do. For two days, I sat quietly and introspected, kept searching for my mistake in the whole incident. I did not have the greed for power even a bit, but to whom could I show this blow to my self-respect? Where could I express the pain inflicted by my own people?" he said.

Champai Soren emphasized that when the party's central executive meeting has not been held for years, and one-sided orders are passed, then whom should he should approach and tell his problems? He also said that he is among the senior members of the party and if the supremo had been active, then the situation would have been different.

"Although the Chief Minister has the right to call a meeting of the legislative party, I was not even told the agenda of the meeting. During the meeting, I was asked to resign. I was surprised, but I had no greed for power, so I immediately resigned, my heart was emotional due to the blow to my self-respect. I was so emotional due to the insulting behaviour I was facing for the last three days that I was trying to control my tears, but they were only interested in the chair. I felt as if I had no existence in that party, no existence at all, to which I had dedicated my entire life. In the meantime, many such insulting incidents happened, which I do not want to mention right now. After so much insult and contempt, I was forced to look for an alternative path," Champai added.

Champai Soren also mentioned on X that after the same meeting of the legislative party, he had three options, first to retire from politics, second, to form his own separate organization and third, if he finds a companion on this path, then to travel further with him.

"From that day till today, and till the upcoming Jharkhand Assembly elections, all options are open for me in this journey," Soren said."One more thing, this is my personal struggle, so I have no intention of involving any party member in it or causing any harm to the organization. We can never even think of harming the party which we have nurtured with our blood and sweat. But circumstances have been created such that...," he added. Champai Soren had taken oath as the 12th Chief Minister of Jharkhand in the Raj Bhavan on February 2 this year. He then resigned from the post of Chief Minister on July 3, a day before JMM executive president Hemant Soren took oath as the 13th chief minister of Jharkhand on July 4.

In 2019, JMM fought the assembly elections in alliance with the Congress and Lalu Prasad's Rashtriya Janta Dal (RJD) and got a comfortable majority with forty-seven seats in the 81-member house. 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by DNA staff and is published from ANI)