Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan and Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma slammed the Hemant Soren government in Jharkhand and accused the Chief Minister of sheltering ‘Bangladeshis’ in the State.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders, who are overseeing the party’s preparations for the Jharkhand elections scheduled later this year, alleged that due to infiltration, the demography of Jharkhand has changed.
Mr. Chouhan slammed the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) and the Congress alleging that the coalition government has left no stone unturned to “ruin Jharkhand”.
“This government has given protection to Bangladeshi infiltrators due to which the demography of the State has been badly affected. If this government returns to power, it is certain that the original residents of this State will become a minority,” Mr. Chouhan said after attending a meeting at Hatia in Ranchi.
The Minister said Mr. Soren has not fulfilled his electoral promises. He said the Chief Minister had promised the youth jobs and unemployment allowance between ₹5,000 and ₹7,000. Women were promised ₹2,000 per month, but the government failed, he said.
Mr. Chouhan said the BJP’s victory in the Assembly election is necessary to save the culture, traditions and values of Jharkhand. “In the Lok Sabha elections, we won nine out of 14 seats in the State and gained lead in 50 out of 81 assembly seats. We will achieve ‘Mahavijay’ in the Assembly elections too,” he said. Presenting data, he said incidents of murder, robbery, rape and riots have increased in the State.
Mr. Sarma said ‘Bangladeshi’ infiltrators first enter Assam and West Bengal and then move towards Jharkhand, Bihar and Chhattisgarh. He said it is the responsibility of the State, and not the Centre, to stop intruders.
“Changing demography is a big issue. In Assam, Muslim population has reached 40% today. In 1951, it was 12%. We have lost many districts. This is not a political issue for me, it is a matter of life and death for me,” Mr. Sarma said.
Mr. Sarma said the removal of Champai Soren as Chief Minister would prove “suicidal” for the JMM and the party will lose 10 seats in the election.
On Tuesday, a delegation led by Jharkhand BJP vice-president Rakesh Prasad submitted a written complaint to the State Election Commission alleging Bangladeshi infiltration in the State.
