Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) came up for much hauling and hackling on the first day of the two-day mega State convention of the Jharkhand Vikas Morcha (JVM) in Ranchi on Saturday for its politics.
Once the blue-eyed boy of BJP in Jharkhand, Babulal Marandi minced no words in devaluing the
party at the convention. "The BJP takes high moral ground and talks of values. But what it has been doing in the State for almost one month is there for all to see," said Marandi, chief of JVM.
"There is a shortage of power and water throughout the State, which hardly has come out of debilitating drought but the rulers are reveling at transfers and postings. People have been the worst sufferers of the vagaries and moral degeneration of leaders of ruling coalitions in the last 7-8 years."
"Come elections and the BJP and the JMM (Jharkhand Mukti Morcha) will have to pay heavily for the political opportunism and absurdity they have perpetrated at the expense of people and development," Marandi said at the inaugural day of the convention.
"Parties are often heard cursing people for the fractured mandate. I differ. It is not people but the parties are to blame. Mutual distrust and clash of interests of among the coalitions have brought Jharkhand to this pass, not people," he said.
"However, we have kept ourselves aloof from the sordid drama and need to go to the people with heads held high, as we have not erred. The JVM has emerged as the first choice of the people in its four year of existence."
"We won 9 out of 20 seats we contested, won two of the five seats where contests were friendly and secured maximum votes in the rest three. We came out second in 10 seats and lost two seats with less than 1000 votes," Marandi said.
"People ask me why you called convention of the party four months after elections. The moment BJP-JMM entered into power sharing alliance, I knew it would not last long. Divorce has come earlier than expectation. I fixed the convention, as I don't want to lose time to prepare for polls, Marandi said urging party workers to go with renewed vigour to the people."
Marandi who had attacked Congress a few days ago for its reticence on current political crisis, however, spared it in his address but blamed ruling regimes with inside or outside support in the last 7-8 years barring his own regime.