New Delhi: JMM (Jharkand Mukti Morcha) supremo Sibu Soren today (Nov 27, 2004) said his stand that he was not "tainted" has been vindicated by his reinduction into the Union Cabinet and denied reports that he was given Coal Ministry against his wishes.

"I belong to the coal belt of the country and so there is no reason why I should be unhappy," Soren said after taking charge as the Coal Minister.

He slammed the BJP (Bharatiya Janata Party) for "engineering" his resignation and terming him an "absconder".

"I have come back after fighting it out and my re-induction is no surprise for me. They (BJP) called me an absconder even though I was in the Parliament. I was made to go to a conspiracy hatched by them," he said.

When asked to react on BJP's plan to raise the issue of "tainted" ministers following his re-induction, Soren said, "BJP is issueless now and is at liberty to say anything."

"When I am not tainted, then what they say does not matter. I am the only tribal leader crusading for the rights of the adivasis. I have struggled throughout my life for insuring their rights, so there were cases against me. But, be it me, the Prime Minister or Shankaracharya, the law will take its own course," he said.

The Jharkand Mukti Morcha supremo made it clear that his party would ally with the Congress and Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) in the impending Assembly polls in Jharkhand and ruled out any hiccups in seat sharing agreement.

Soren, however, parried a question on whether he would be the next Chief Minister saying, "It was for the masses to decide who they want their next CM to be."