Leader of Opposition and Jharkhand BJP president Babulal Marandi on Monday accused Chief Minister Hemant Soren and senior bureaucrats of orchestrating a conspiracy to frame him in false cases and silence his voice against corruption in the state.
Addressing the media in Giridih, he claimed that he had received information from “reliable sources” about an alleged plan involving top officials close to the Chief Minister. He asserted that the motive behind the conspiracy was to malign his image and intimidate him into backing down from his continued exposé of alleged irregularities in governance.
“The government is clearly alarmed by the issues I have been raising — from liquor and mining scams to recruitment corruption in JSSC-JPSC and the mismanagement of rural development schemes,” Marandi said. “These exposures have prompted those in power to act out of personal vendetta.”
He drew parallels to a 2013 incident during Soren’s earlier tenure, alleging that extremist elements in Shikaripara had been tasked with targeting him. “At that time, intelligence reports revealed the threat, and the Union Government responded by assigning CRPF protection for my security. Today, I see a similar pattern emerging,” he said.
Refusing to be intimidated, the former Chief Minister declared, “If the CM and his officials believe they can silence me with threats or false accusations, they are gravely mistaken. I have faced far greater personal losses, including the tragic death of my son at the hands of extremists. These tactics will not deter me from my path.”
He warned that any harm to him, his family, or associates should be considered a consequence of the alleged conspiracy, holding the state government fully accountable for any such incident.
Several BJP leaders, including Giridih district president Mahadev Dubey, were present at the press conference and expressed solidarity with Marandi. Party sources indicated that the matter may be raised with the BJP’s central leadership in New Delhi.
Marandi’s allegations drew sharp rebuttals from the ruling Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) and its ally, the Congress, who dismissed the charges as politically motivated theatrics.
JMM General Secretary and spokesperson Vinod Kumar Pandey issued a strongly worded statement, calling Marandi’s claims “a desperate stunt for cheap popularity.” He urged the former CM to “uphold the dignity” of the office he once held and refrain from “baseless accusations driven by political insecurity.”
Pandey suggested that Marandi’s remarks stem from discomfort over Chief Minister Soren’s rising popularity and the success of various pro-people initiatives. “Instead of trying to derail development projects like RIMS-2 in Ranchi, Mr. Marandi should focus on pressuring the Centre to release the pending ₹1.4 lakh crore in coal royalty dues. He should also advocate for long-pending proposals like the Sarna religious code and state reservation policies,” Pandey added.
The Congress responded in even more scathing terms. Rakesh Sinha, General Secretary and Media In-charge of the Jharkhand Pradesh Congress Committee, ridiculed Marandi as a “withered flower who poses no threat to anyone.”
Sinha accused the BJP veteran of having a “conspiratorial past,” recalling instances of communal tension and political instability during Marandi’s tenure as CM in the early 2000s. “He was removed by his own party for his divisive conduct, floated a separate party, and was later involved in horse-trading during Rajya Sabha elections,” Sinha alleged.
Challenging the credibility of Marandi’s threat claims, Sinha asked, “Where was the threat perception back then? Today, he is simply playing the victim card to stay relevant. The people of Jharkhand can see through these political gimmicks.”