Dumka/Ranchi
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday flagged the issue of increasing infiltration in Jharkhand and accused the JMM-led Jharkhand government of “patronising infiltrators” who are grabbing land and putting women at risk leading to a decline in tribal population.
He was addressing an election meeting in tribal-dominated Dumka, where he urged the masses to vote for BJP candidates contesting the Dumka, Godda and Rajmahal Lok Sabha seats. The candidates include JMM patriarch Shibu Soren’s eldest daughter-in-law Sita Soren, who joined the BJP after being “neglected” in the JMM. She is contesting from the Soren family’s stronghold seat of Dumka.
“Now there is a big crisis of infiltrators in Jharkhand. Our Santhal Pargana is facing the challenge of infiltrators a lot. In many areas, the number of tribals is decreasing rapidly and the number of infiltrators is increasing. Tribal daughters are the target of infiltrators. Their security and safety are at risk. Their lives are also at risk,” the PM asserted.
In a reference to two ghastly incidents in 2022, Modi said, “Tribal daughters are being chopped into 50 pieces, being burnt alive. Someone’s tongue was pulled out. Who are these people who are targeting tribal daughters? Why is the JMM government patronising them,” he said adding love jehad first started in Jharkhand.
He added that the tribals were the worst victims of naxalism and cross border infiltration.
While Modi raked up the issue of INDIA bloc’s bid to defeat Droupadi Murmu in the 2022 presidential polls, he even sought to reach out to the Christians citing the “communal politics” of JMM. He said that despite Sunday being a holiday from the time of British rule, in one of the districts of Jharkhand, it was changed to Friday. “Sunday is not linked to Hindus but to the Christian community. It has been a holiday since 200-300 years. Now, they are fighting with Christians also,” he charged.
Modi further hit out at the JMM-Congress over the ‘flourishing’ corruption in Jharkhand under their watch and accused them of looting the State from all sides. “There are so many beautiful mountains here, but Jharkhand is being discussed for the mountain of notes,” he said sarcastically, promising to act against them after the results come out on June 4.
He also did not miss out to remind the masses that his government made a four-fold increase in budgetary allocations for tribal welfare and celebrated Birsa Munda’s birth anniversary as Janjatiya Gaurav Divas.
Though Santhal Pargana is known as a traditional bastion of the JMM, in recent decades the BJP has succeeded in breaching it time and again. In 2019, it won Dumka and Godda seats. The JMM captured Rajmahal in 2014 and 2019.
The political equations have, however, changed in 2024. The BJP has fielded Sita Soren in Dumka and the JMM is leaving no stone unturned to ensure her defeat. A section of BJP workers too is reportedly unhappy with her.
The BJP has fielded Tala Marandi in Rajmahal against two-term sitting MP Vijay Hansdak of JMM. But JMM rebel Lobin Hembrom too has jumped into fray as an Independent candidate.
The BJP has repeated Nishikant Dube in Godda, who won this seat in 2014 and 2019. He is being challenged by Congress MLA Pradip Yadav, once a close confidant of State BJP chief Babulal Marandi.
BOX
In another development, a petition seeking incarcerated former Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren’s regular bail was heard by the Jharkhand High Court on Tuesday. The High Court asked the Enforcement Directorate to furnish its reply through an affidavit. The next hearing of this case will take place on June 10. Former Rural Development Secretary Manish Ranjan too was summoned by the Enforcement Directorate for interrogations, which were on at the time of filing of this report. Department’s Minister Alamgir Alam is already in ED custody for the past eight days. Some of his close aides too are behind the bars.
