In response to the summon issued by ED to appear before it in the alleged illegal mining case, Chief Minister Hemant Soren has sent a reply to the central agency seeking three weeks' time to abide by its summon.

Now, the ED has to decide its course of action against CM Soren. The Central agency can send him to summon again.

In any case, today the JMM supporters had gathered at Morahabadi Maidan and then came to the official residence of the CM where Soren addressed them and told them that the opposition BJP was using the central agency to fix him in a fake case.

Then, CM Soren also pounced on the central agency saying that if he is guilty, why the ED was questioning him? “ Just come and arrest me”, said Soren.

"The BJP has unleashed central forces to destabilize a democratically elected Jharkhand government. I am not afraid of ED and CBI... This is a misuse of constitutional institutions to suppress the voice of anyone who opposes them,” he added, addressing party workers about the Enforcement Directorate's allegation that he laundered money in a “coal mining scam”. “This conspiracy will get a befitting reply,” he said.

Notably,the CM Soren was asked to appear at the ED's regional office in Ranchi today but he did not. Instead, he addressed workers of the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha, which has a coalition state government with the Congress, outside his house. And then he sent a letter to ED’s regional office in Ranchi seeking three weeks to appear before it.