Former chief minister and JMM chief Shibu Soren leaves a Giridih court after a hearing of the Pirtand double murder case on Thursday. Picture by Shahnawaz Akhtar

Giridih, June 3: The one act of former chief minister Shibu Soren that changed the face of Jharkhand politics for ever and ultimately brought down his government was not a “mistake” after all as claimed by him and his son so far.

His vote against a BJP-sponsored cut motion in Parliament was a deliberate act, the JMM chief declared today, shocking many with his blatant admission.

To drive home his point, Soren insisted that the vote cast by him 37 days ago, which set off a chain of political reactions ending with President’s rule being imposed on the state, was the “right decision” at the time.

“Galti kahan? Jo kiya, woh soch samajh kar kiya aur us waqt ke hisab se sahi decision tha (Where is the mistake? Whatever step was taken was done with a great deal of thought. It was definitely the right decision to take at that time),” Soren said.

Adding for good measure: “I have no regrets about it.”

Soren’s shocking statement was made in front of reporters today. The former chief minister was here in Giridih to appear before a court in connection with the Pirtand double murder case.

On April 27, Soren voted against a BJP-sponsored cut motion in Parliament, despite the fact that the party was supporting his government in the state.

An affronted BJP announced withdrawal of support to the Soren-led government, prompting Soren’s son Hemant to announce that it was a “human error”. He later sent a letter of apology to BJP national president Nitin Gadkari too, regretting the “mistake” committed by Soren senior. He also offered BJP the chance to form a government in the state.

However, a BJP government it was not to be as JMM flip flops continued. Finally, Soren resigned on May 30 and President’s rule was imposed the next day.

When confronted with his father’s statement today, a taken aback Hemant said: “I cannot comment on what Guruji has said in front of reporters.” Adding after a pause: “After talking to him, and seeing what you people publish tomorrow I will decide on the reply.”

Changing the subject rapidly, Hemant said that people were mistaken if they thought that Guruji had given up all hopes of forming a government in Jharkhand.

“President’s rule is not good for the people, which is why you have MPs and MLAs. We will try to form a government again,” he said.

On being asked who he wanted to form the government with, Hemant replied: “UPA and NDA.”

Reacting to Soren’s statement, BJP chief spokesperson Ravi Shankar Prasad said: “This shows we were right in withdrawing support to the JMM-led government.”