Chief Minister Hemant Soren (left) while taking part in a programme to distribute welfare measures under Jharkhand Mukhyamantri Maiyan Samman Yojana (JMMSY) at Medininagar in Palamu district on Thursday.
| Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren on Thursday slammed Opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) saying that they lack leaders in the State and “hire” them from other States like Madhya Pradesh and Assam.
He indirectly took a jibe at Union Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan and Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma who are looking after the tribal-dominated State as Jharkhand Assembly election in-charge and co-incharge.
Without naming anyone, Mr. Soren said that the Opposition is engaged in divisive politics and he dared the BJP to call him ‘land mafia’ and ‘corrupt’.
“They do not have anything to counter our developmental work. They neither have agenda nor vision. Earlier, they used to call me corrupt, land mafia and land thief and put me in jail. Now, what they will call me today when I am standing in front of them. I dare them to call me land mafia and corrupt. When their leaders in Jharkhand could not handle the politics and party, they hired leaders from Madhya Pradesh and Assam to issue false statements,” Mr. Soren said, while taking part in a programme to transfer money under the Jharkhand Mukhyamantri Maiyan Samman Yojana (JMMSY) at Medininagar near Chiyanki airport in Palamu district.
Mr. Soren claimed the BJP and the Union government are leaving no stone unturned to harass him. “Many efforts were made to topple my government, attempts were made to break my party and MLAs. False allegations were levelled against me. How I used to look earlier and how do I look now? They troubled me for two-and-a-half years and even put me in jail. However, there is delay in God’s house but no injustice. Nobody can hide the truth and with the order of the High Court and Supreme Court, I am standing before all of you,” he asserted.
Mr. Soren, who is also the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) executive president, said Assembly elections will be held in Jharkhand in November-December this year and that “all people have to be careful”. He urged the gathering to repose trust in him with the developmental work being carried out by his government.
“You all must understand their (BJP) politics. In the upcoming Assembly election, they will try to add poison in the name of Hindu, Muslim, Sikh, Christian, tribal and non-tribals the way they did in the Lok Sabha election. However, the people of this country gave a tight slap to them due to which they could not form government and required crutches,” Mr. Soren quipped.
The CM also alleged that the Centre has stopped recruitment in major sectors like army, railways, bank and coal mines, however the State government is making all the efforts to provide employment to people in Jharkhand.
He pointed out that the society and State will progress only when the tribals, Dalits, poor, deprived, labourers, farmers and women are empowered.
“Building a strong Jharkhand is possible only if we take all of them together. This is the reason why our government is continuously working to empower them. In the last four-and-a-half years, our government has drawn up a long line of development work. The work that was not done in the last 20 years after Jharkhand became a separate State, has been completed by our government amidst adverse circumstances. Today, the State is moving ahead rapidly on the path of development,” Mr. Soren added.
