Jharkhand: Hemant Soren quotes a couplet, takes a dig at the BJP

Jailed former Jharkhand chief minister Hemant Soren on Monday, 6 May, quoted a couplet by renowned poet Nafas Ambalvi — apparently to take a dig at the BJP, asserting that 'they' might think his 'flight was cut short', but he believed they failed to see the big picture.

Soren posted the couplet together with his own photographs on X, sporting a white kurta-pyjama and a beard, before going to his ancestral village Nemra in Ramgarh.

The Jharkhand High Court had on Friday, 3 May, denied bail to Soren, dismissing his writ petition challenging his arrest by the Enforcement Directorate (ED); but had allowed him to attend his uncle Rajaram Soren's last rites on 6 May while remaining in police custody.

'Usey gumman hai ki meri udaan kuchh kam hai, mujhe yakin hai ki ye aasman kuch kam hai (they think my flight is short, but I believe the sky is a little small for my ambitions),' Soren posted on X.

In the photographs, Soren is seen with family members, including his father, Jharkhand Mukti Morcha supremo Shibu Soren, as well as his mother and his wife.

Soren was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate on 31 January in connection with a money-laundering case linked to an alleged land scam. He is at present in judicial custody and lodged at the Birsa Munda Central Jail in Ranchi.

The former chief minister also moved the Supreme Court on Monday, 6 May, against the Jharkhand High Court order dismissing his application that challenged his arrest by the ED.

A three-judge bench headed by Chief Justice D.Y. Chandrachud said it would look at the request when Soren's plea for interim bail was set to come up for hearing, on 7 May.

Senior advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for Soren, argued that polling in Jharkhand for the Lok Sabha elections will commence on 13 May and he should be allowed to campaign for his party, the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM).

Later in the evening, Soren shared another piece of poetry, this time alluding to the character of the people of Jharkhand. It said:

Based on edited PTI inputs