Ranchi: Expressing concern over the alleged abduction and killing of two youths from Odisha's Mayurbhanj district in Chaibasa, BJP on Friday said "Jangal Raj" was returning to Jharkhand with left-wing extremism (LWE) rearing its ugly head.
BJP's executive president Ravindra Rai said village residents in LWE-affected areas of Chaibasa were being forced to take up arms to protect themselves as police and administration were failing to provide adequate security.
"These LWE groups are rearing their ugly heads again. They were pinned down by us when our govt was in office. Now, they are killing and torturing the villagers again, forcing the residents to take up arms and conduct night patrolling on their own to protect themselves. This is why cases of Sendra (lynching) are happening," Rai told the press at the party's state headquarters in the evening.
JMM and Congress reacted swiftly to negate BJP's claims.
"They (BJP) do not have any issues to speak on. Yet, they have been tasked to speak every day. Until yesterday (Thursday), Babulal Marandi was doing it in the assembly. Now, Rai has taken the onus on himself," JMM general secretary-cum-spokesperson Supriyo Bhattacharya said.
Congress spokesperson Rakesh Kumar Sinha said, "When Jharkhand was carved out of Bihar, Marandi, then CM, had set the state on fire which resulted in the first-ever curfew imposed in the state. It was during the BJP govt's tenure when Dhanbad's deputy mayor Neeraj Singh was killed. It was our govt which has taken development to the Red-affected areas such as Burha Pahar."Sinha said.