Jharkhand chief minister Hemant Soren marked his 49th birthday on Saturday by posting a picture of a "prisoner’s stamp" on his arm and portraying it as "a symbol of the current challenges before our democracy".
Soren's arm was marked with the prisoner’s stamp before his June 28 release on bail from a Ranchi jail, where he had been held after the Enforcement Directorate arrested him on January 31 on money-laundering charges relating to a land scam.
"The memories of the past one year are etched in my mind. This is a mark of a prisoner, which was put on me while being released from jail," Hemant wrote on X.
"This mark is not only mine, but is a symbol of the current challenges before our democracy."
A jail official said the stamp's purpose is to identify a prisoner "only within the prison premises" during the release process, and that the mark is easy to wash off with soap.
Like other Opposition politicians, Soren has repeatedly accused the Narendra Modi government of misusing central agencies against political opponents.
In his post, he alleged a BJP conspiracy to frame him. "When an elected chief minister can be put in jail for 150 days without any evidence, without any complaint, without any crime, what will they do to ordinary tribals/ Dalits/ the marginalised…."
He said his arrest had further steeled his resolve "to fight for every exploited, deprived, Dalit, backward, tribal, moolvasi (indigenous)" person.
“I will raise my voice for every person/ community that has been suppressed and deprived of justice, persecuted on the basis of their colour, community, food or clothing. We have to unite and build a society where the law is equal for all, where there is no misuse of power,” he posted.
“This path will not be easy. We will have to face many challenges. But I believe that we can overcome these challenges together, because our strength lies in the unity and diversity of our country.”
Congress MP Rahul Gandhi, the leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, greeted Hemant on his birthday and said the INDIA bloc would fight for the rights of the poor, the deprived and the tribal communities and win.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi too greeted Hemant in a post on X, saying: “Birthday wishes to Jharkhand CM Shri Hemant Soren Ji. Praying for his long and healthy life.”
Late on Friday night, Hemant had taken the cue from Trinamool MP and former cricketer Kirti Azad to question the allocation to Jharkhand under the Khelo India Scheme, a sports ministry initiative to build a grassroots sports culture.
“Jharkhand has received the least amount after Goa. Goa has received ₹4.24 crore while Jharkhand has received ₹9.63 crore. Is this not sheer injustice?” Hemant wrote.
Union sports minister Mansukh Mandaviya had released the state-wise list of allocations under the scheme in a reply to Parliament last month. It showed Puducherry, a Union Territory, receiving ₹8.75 lakh.
Azad had posted the list on social media on Friday morning to ask why Gujarat, which “has nothing to do with Sports”, got the “most amount of funds” despite Manipur and Haryana bringing “the highest number of Olympic medals to India”.
The list he posted shows Gujarat being allocated ₹426.13 crore --- nearly a fifth of the ₹2,168.78 crore for the entire country under the scheme -- compared with ₹46.71 crore for Manipur and ₹66.59 crore for Haryana.
Gujarat has not produced too many household names in sports outside cricket and, perhaps, tennis.
