Amit Shah goes after Hemant Soren govt, says driving Adivasi-backward wedge, letting ‘infiltrators’ marry tribal women

Castigating the Jharkhand government’s domicile policy which has set 1932 as the cut-off year for poof of land records for defining a local, Shah charged that Soren was “widening the divide” in the state and has “cheated” the people of a place like Chaibasa whose land record settlement year is 1964.

Shah alleged that Soren has “looted” Jharkhand and has not been able to “protect tribal women from infiltrators”, who, he alleged, would marry them to usurp their lands.

Days after Soren repeated his allegation that the BJP had recently tried to destabilise his government when he had been embroiled in a mining lease controversy, Shah said the Jharkhand BJP Legislature Party’s leader Babulal Marandi had urged him to “change the government in Jharkhand” but he said the government could not be changed like this in a democracy. “Mujhe Babulal ji ne kaha sarkar badal do, maine kaha Babulal ji Loktantra hai sarkar main nahi badal sakta. Lekin is baar jo parinaam aane wale hain, Jharkhand ki janta sarkar mein nischit parivartan karne wali hai. (Babulal Marandi asked me to change the government, but I said it cannot be done like this in a democracy. However, in the coming election the people of Jharkhand will certainly change the government.”

After arriving in Jharkhand, Shah held a core committee meeting of the state BJP in Chaibasa. Later, addressing the well-attended rally, he said, “The youths of this place have been cheated in the name of jobs and domicile policy. The entire Chaibasa has its settlement year as 1964, so tell me brothers and sisters of Chaibasa, will you get jobs on the basis of this domicile policy.” He also asked the JMM-led coalition government, “Why are are you increasing the divide…and if you don’t have the capability to give jobs then vacate your seat of power, we will come and lead Jharkhand to progress”.

The Union Home Minister charged that Soren has given the reins of the state to “extortionists and middlemen” while driving a wedge between “Adivasis and non-Adivasis” and “Adivasis and backwards”.

“Adivasi, non adivasi, pichda aur adivasi, ye kya laga rakha hai. Jharkhand ko barbaad karne par kyun tule ho bhai. Jharkhand wale ne hi vote dekar CM banaya aur aapne CM banne ke baad poori ki poori Jharkhand sarkar looteron ke haath mein aur dalalon ke haath mein de di. Awaidh ghoospathiye janjatiye bachon se jabran shaadi kar rahe hain aur unki zameen ainth rahe hain. Main aaj chetawani dene aaya hoon ki ghoospathiyoon ko rokiye varna Jharkhand ki janata apko maaf nahi karegi. (What is this Adivasi and non-Adivasi, backward and Adivasi conflict. You have ruined Jharkhand. People voted you to power, but you have handed its reins to extortionists and middlemen. Illegal infiltrators are marrying Scheduled Tribes women forcefully and taking away their land. I have come here to warn you to stop infiltrators or else the people would not forgive you).”

Shah highlighted how Prime Minister Narendra Modi selected Droupadi Murmu as the ruling side’s nominee for the Rashtrapati Bhavan, who created history by becoming the first tribal to get elected as the President.

Listing the Modi government’s efforts in ensuring the development of tribals, he also said it has declared November 15, the birth anniversary of Adivasi icon Birsa Munda, as the “Janjatiya Gaurav Divas”.

The Home Minister also told the rally that PM Modi created a District Mineral Foundation Trust (DMFT) fund to help the people of the mining affected areas, but the Soren dispensation has allegedly siphoned off funds from the scheme. “Jharkhand received Rs 8301 crore as DMFT fund which was used properly under the (previous) Raghubar Das government. However, the Hemant Soren government used it arbitrarily since it came to power. Modi ji sent these funds for the tribal community, but only loot has happened. Soren ji listen to the people of Chaibasa, who know everything that you are filling your packets with it.”