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Inglorious exit

The Shibu Soren saga would have made for an edge-of-the-seat thriller had the protagonist been a fictional character involved in a prolonged cat-and-mouse game with the law. It may be a reflection of the times that Mr. Soren is a public figure of some importance. The Union Coal Minister's exit from government after being convicted of murder by a CBI special court is the inglorious culmination of a career speckled with scams and scandals. Less than a year ago, Mr. Soren reclaimed the Coal Ministry for the third time in two years. His first exit from government, in July 2004, followed an arrest warrant in a 29-year old case relating to the killing of 11 villagers in Chirudih in Bihar. The situation required the Central Minister to turn himself over to the police. Instead the nation was treated to the spectacle of a runaway Minister pursued by the law even as the government to which he belonged stood mute. Mr. Soren was eventually dismissed only to be reinstated with honour within four months. The Jharkhand Mukti Morcha leader's next misadventure saw him seize the Chief Ministership of Jharkhand in the full knowledge that he did not command a majority in the Assembly. After this brazen move failed, he was re-inducted into the Cabinet and once again rewarded with the coal portfolio. Now Mr. Soren has scored for himself and for the United Progressive Alliance Government an unforgettable first — he is the first serving Central Minister to be convicted by a court of law, convicted for no less than the murder of his personal secretary.

But the twists and turns do not end here. The CBI's charges against Mr. Soren and four others are that in May 1994 they abducted and murdered Shashinath Jha because he had knowledge of a July 1993 deal between the Congress and the JMM. In the infamous JMM bribery case, four JMM MPs, including Mr. Soren, were prosecuted for receiving cash in return for bailing out the Narasimha Rao Government, which was in a minority and faced a no-confidence motion. Mr. Soren and his fellow bribe-takers were legally exonerated — because their collective act qualified as parliamentary privilege! The Supreme Court held that, under the Constitution, MPs who voted in Parliament after receiving bribes were entitled to immunity from prosecution. Mr. Soren's early fame was earned through genuine courage — he was the upstanding tribal leader who campaigned against money lenders and spearheaded the Jharkhand agitation. From then on, his political and personal degeneration as well as ability to survive major scandals have been phenomenal. The Manmohan Singh Government, which allowed itself to be repeatedly pressured into inducting Mr. Soren, has much to answer for.

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