'Tribals, dalit are automatically framed...': Rahul on Hemant Soren's arrest
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday compared the arrests of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and former Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren, who is yet to receive bail. Referring to Soren, he alleged that tribal and Dalit individuals are "automatically framed." Gandhi stated, "Two Chief Ministers were arrested [but] the tribal CM (Hemant Soren) is still in jail." He further added that the national media has seemingly forgotten about Soren's case.
Why does this story matter?
Both Kejriwal and Soren were arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in separate money laundering cases this year. While Soren was arrested in January in connection with a money laundering case linked to an alleged land scam, Kejriwal was arrested in March in connection with the Delhi excise policy case. Following their arrests, both CMs attempted to secure interim bail multiple times. The Supreme Court finally granted bail to Kejriwal on May 10, but Soren has yet to receive it.
System is aligned against lower castes: Gandhi
Gandhi added that this difference in bail decisions shows that the "system is aligned against lower castes." "The Adivasi Chief Minister (Soren) is still in jail. He was arrested before and is still behind bars. The national media has forgotten him; it doesn't talk about him... Mayawati is corrupt but not Naveen Patnaik, Lalu Yadav is corrupt... if someone is tribal or Dalit, he is automatically framed," he added.
Gandhi questions lack of representation
The Wayanad MP further claimed that 90% of the corporate, media, bureaucratic, military, and educational systems lack representation, yet arguments of "merit" are being made. "How is it that 90 percent of people don't have merit?" Gandhi questioned. He said his understanding comes from "sitting in the system" since birth. "When my grandmother...father...Manmohan Singh was the PM, I used to go to the PM's house. So I know how the system works from the inside," he added.
