Soren pays back lawyer with RS seat

Vijay Deo Jha | NATION | Friday, June 4, 2010

JMM chief might not have paid a high fee to his eminent lawyers but then he has already paid them handsomely with Rajya Sabha nomination.

He had offered Rajya Sabha seat to lawyer RK Anand who had bailed him out of Parliament bribery case. In a similar vein, Soren on Thursday projected his lawyer Sanjeev Kumar as JMM candidate for Rajya Sabha election who has been arguing in Kurko murder case of Giridih. Soren made this announcement in Giridih where he stated "lawyer Sanjeev is the choice of the JMM for Rajya Sabha election."

The announcement helped to develop fissure in the index of JMM-AJSU alliance as AJSU chief Sudesh Kumar Mahato expressed surprise over the announcement of Soren. Sudesh used a close guarded language to comment over what he said: "I think it is an announcement of the proposal. Do not read so much between the lines. Sanjeev might be Soren's choice."

"But, it will have to be decided in the joint meeting of the alliance partners," Sudesh concluded.

Independent MLA Chamra Linda who continues to side with Soren the day Soren's Government landed in trouble is also the part of the political confederacy which has so far decided to maintain unity for the Rajya Sabha polls for the two seats scheduled to be held on June 17.

"I am not aware of this. No such proposal of the name of the lawyer has come from the side of the JMM," Linda said. Resentments are brewing in the JMM fold. "We have no problem with the person proposed as JMM candidate but the thing is that Soren has the tendency to make announcement without discussing it at the party forum," a senior JMM leader said.

But the lawyer is merely happy at the prospect of being nominated as JMM candidate and claimed that even in the past he was offered Rajya Sabha seat by Soren himself.

"On many occasions in the past Soren hinted me his intention to field me in Rajya Sabha election. I politely turn down the proposal as I wanted to concentrate on my career as a lawyer in the Supreme Court," Sanjeev Kumar said to The Pioneer.

Sanjeev who had argued the Sashinath Jha murder case involving Soren at Delhi High Court worked under eminent apex court lawyer Ram Jethmalani. Sanjeev joined the apex court in 1986. He has also argued in the behalf of Soren in Jamtara case.

Claiming his association with Soren during his childhood days; the lawyer reserves high regard for him. "I belong to the place Maniyadih in district Giridih where Soren had started his movement for a separate Jharkhand and against the money launders. It was Soren who brought me to New Delhi for further study in law from the hard-to-reach area like Maniyadih."

The lawyer completed his schooling in Rajgang High School in Dhanbad and shifted back to Giridih to complete his intermediate. A student of Ranchi College where he studied Physics (Hons.) Sanjeev shifted to Delhi University to pursue study in the law faculty.

After nominating Sanjeev as JMM candidate Soren spent some times with his old friends including Vansi Ram, Vansi Sen, Narad Sen and Kaushwa Tudu at his old abode at village Balwa.