1,000 days of neglect: Opposition takes dig at govt report card

RANCHI: Opposition parties, including Congress, JMM, JVM-P, RJD, CPI, CPM and Marxist Coordination Committee (MCC), mocked the celebration of 1,000 days by Raghubar Das government and said the BJP-led government failed to fulfil the aspirations of the common people.

JMM working president and leader of the opposition, Hemant Soren, and state Congress president Sukhdeo Bhagat on Friday criticised the government for neglecting the 'rule of law' for gaining political mileage. "Despite gaining full majority in the assembly election, BJP enticed six members of the JVM-P and engineered their defection," Soren said.

He added the state was yet to have full strength in the 12-member cabinet. "It seems that the government has no faith over its own MLAs and alliance partners. They have one post in the cabinet vacant to please any defector," Soren said.

The opposition leaders sought an apology from chief minister Raghubar Das for attempting to amend the tenancy Acts without discussing the matter at the ground level. "The CM later went on to amend the 2013 land acquisition Act with the objective of removing the social impact assessment clause. It indicates the government's support for industrialists instead of common people who would loose land," Soren added.

The opposition parties also criticised the government for introducing the Freedom of Religion bill and branded it as an agenda of the Rashtriya Swayam Sevak Sangh (RSS) to destabilise the age-old communal harmony. "Will the ambitious smartcity scheme of the government benefit the tribals? The government has also decreased amount of scholarship for SC/ST students," Soren pointed out.

Bhagat also sought an explanation from the government about steps being taken to avoid farmers' suicide and closure of Dhanbad-Chandrapura railway line without making an alternate arrangement. He said, "For the first time we saw photographs and video footages of people carrying bodies of their kin on their shoulders as the hospitals denied them ambulance facility." The opposition members have decided to take to the streets with 32 questions directed to the government on completion its 1,000 days in government.