Dumka/Bokaro: Addressing multiple rallies on the penultimate day of the silence period ahead of the November 20 polling, chief minister Hemant Soren on Sunday questioned why Prime Minister Narendra Modi could not muster up the courage to visit strife-torn Manipur, where fresh violence has erupted in the last few days.
Questioning their silence and the reason for not visiting Manipur after the fresh spree of violence, Hemant said Modi and Union home minister Amit Shah, on the contrary, have parachuted scores of saffron party leaders from other states in Jharkhand to "polarise people through its divisive politics".
Addressing a rally at Jamua (Giridih), Hemant said, "Manipur is burning again but the PM and the home minister have not gone there till date. Atrocities are being committed against tribal women in states like Manipur, which is not hidden from anyone. But BJP only knows how to do politics of dividing society, not of uniting it."
He added that they (INDIA bloc) will neither break nor divide people but will continue to fight tooth and nail against such "divisive forces". "We have taken Jharkhand after a long struggle and fight. We know how to reclaim our rights, too," he stressed, appealing to voters to show such "divisive forces" its right place by helping his govt return to office so that he can continue working for the people.
Apart from Jamua, Hemant addressed rallies in Gandey and a few other constituencies in Santhal Pargana region where voting will take place on Nov 20.
Hitting out further at BJP, he said, "They adopt a policy of divide and rule. It's been 24 years since the state was formed and Jharkhand should have been the richest in the country by now. But due to their wrong policies, it is struggling on all fronts today. In this election, you should work to strengthen our alliance govt."
He cited how despite challenges such as the Covid-19 pandemic and the political instability triggered allegedly by BJP with its attempt to topple the govt, among others, his govt kept working for the people and launching a slew of initiatives.
"We are the first to launch a universal pension scheme and have also started a pension scheme for women to empower them. Today, tribal and poor students can study in foreign countries on scholarships, and we have waived farm loans, and provided free electricity up to 200 units for all. These are some of our govt's achievements," he stressed, adding that the BJP-led govt in the Centre has, however, tried to block Jharkhand's progress by denying its coal dues.
In Jamtara, Hemant said BJP could never work for tribals, farmers and the poor. "They only work to divide people based on caste and religion. Their work is to pit people against one another. We work above castes and religions. All sections are benefiting from our govt's schemes," he said, adding that they have kept the BJP out of office for five years.
"They are now desperate to grab the power, but we must keep them away. They have set their eyes on our minerals, water, forests and land. We must unite to drive them out of Jharkhand, again. They tried to send me to jail and topple the govt, but they couldn't shake our alliance," he added.