VIJAY DEO JHA
Ranchi, May 28: Referring to his rivals as the seasonal frogs, Pankaj Mishra said that he is hardly affected by allegations levelled against him and he is also not afraid of central agencies like the CBI and the Enforcement Directorate.
Pankaj Mishra, a native of the Sahibganj district is the MLA representative of the Chief Minister Hemant Soren. The ED is understood to have been investigating his role in the alleged money laundering through illegal mining.
“Why should I be afraid? I have not done anything wrong. I have been in the JMM for the past 32 years and I remained in jail for the cause of a separate Jharkhand state movement. Does the BJP have any moral right to accuse me? The BJP should explain that their party workers in Sahibganj district have 55 trucks,” Pankaj Mishra said at the Chief Minister’s residence in Ranchi where he came to attend the meeting of the party.
The investigation by the Enforcement Directorate has revealed that illegally mined stone chips of Sahibganj, Pakur, and Dumka are transported even to Bangladesh.
“The BJP should tell the people whether or not its party workers transport stone chips to Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Nepal. But there is no need to tell these all to the central agencies because the central agencies are the puppet of the BJP,” he said.
He said that people must know the number of mines allotted in Sahibganj district between 2014 and 2019 when the BJP was in power.
“During the BJP rule, a total of 55 mines were allotted whereas during our government so far only 12 mines have been allocated. It is not a crime if any stone mine were allotted to me. I too have the right to do business. During the BJP rule, the then Jharkhand BJP president Tala Marandi and his two sons were given the mining leases. BJP district president also got the mining lease,” he said.
Pankaj Mishra said that the BJP has no moral right to speak against him.
“A local crusher mafia had assaulted one IAS officer but no action was taken. Now one who is facing 14 criminal cases is close to Babulal Marandi,” he said.
