Hemant Soren, a leader of the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) and the Chief Minister of Jharkhand, took his first Cabinet decision on the 29th of December.
A few hours after taking oath as the Chief Minister of Jharkhand, Hemant Soren signed papers withdrawing all cases registered against the tribals involved in Pathalgarhi Movement. He also withdrew cases against those who participated in the protests which took place after the Chota Nagpur Tenancy (CNT) Act and Santhal Pargana Tenancy (SPT) Act were amended.
The CNT Act and the SPT Act were amended in 2016 and proposed to acquire land of tribals for development projects in the State. A large protest was seen in the State when the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was in power. At the time, the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) supported the protest and raised its voice against the amended Acts.
Another major decision taken by Hemant Soren during the first Cabinet meeting was to clear the arrears of para teachers, contractual employees, Anganwadi workers and student scholarships.
The JMM led State Government would also fill up vacancies in several government departments and add fast track courts in every district for cases of sexual offences.
Chaired by Hemant Soren, the Cabinet meeting was attended by three ministers who took the oath of office with Mr. Soren on the 29th of December. Indian National Congress (INC) member Alamgir Alam and Rashtriya Janata Dal members Rameshwar Oraon and Satyanand Bhokta took the oath with the 11th Chief Minister of Jharkhand.
According to sources, the JMM led State Government would conduct a three day Assembly session with Protem Speaker Stephen Marandi.
The three day Assembly session is scheduled to commence on the 6th of January, 2020.
Stay tuned for further updates.
