Cong to meet party leaders dissenting over locals’ policy

Ranchi: With fissures erupting within Congress, which is a part of the ruling coalition in the state, over the 1932-based land survey to define the locals, the grand old party is brainstorming ways to keep their flocks together. On September 14, the Hemant Soren-led cabinet resolved to introduce a bill in the assembly and send it to the Union government for amendments in the ninth schedule of the Constitution to implement the local residents’ policy.
While the JMM-Congress-RJD’s coalition regime hailed the policy as a landmark step with several tribal outfits welcoming the move, protests against it has also erupted.
For Congress, which is constantly confronted with infighting, the government’s latest move has again divided its leaders and lawmakers within the party fold. Former chief minister Madhu Koda and his wife-cum-Singbhum MP Geeta Koda (Congress) have openly threatened to hit the streets, demanding its withdrawal. Jharia MLA Purnima Singh along with many other non-tribal MLAs are criticising it.
On Thursday, former party president and former MLA Sukhdeo Bhagat, too, defended the 1932 ‘khatiyan’ basis for domicile at a press conference. “The 1932 ‘kathiyan’-based domicile has always been a sensitive and emotional issue for people here since the formation of the state. However, when the bill is tabled, the government will also make provisions to ensure that those living here since decades are not robbed of their rights,” he added.