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Marandi asks Jharkhand govt to amend PESA Rules; alleges violation
Addressing a press conference at the party headquarters, Marandi, who is also the Jharkhand BJP chief, alleged that by diluting the very basics of the PESA Act, the Hemant government wants to appoint those who have abandoned traditional beliefs and worship practices as gram sabha chairpersons.
Asserting that the PESA Rules notified by the Hemant Soren government were against the provisions of the PESA Act, 1996, Leader of the Opposition Babula Marandi on Thursday urged the INDIA bloc regime to reconsider the rules and make adequate amendments, or else the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) would take the issue to the “people’s court”, “which is the final arbiter in a democracy”.
Addressing a press conference at the party headquarters, Marandi, who is also the Jharkhand BJP chief, alleged that by diluting the very basics of the PESA Act, the Hemant government wants to appoint those who have abandoned traditional beliefs and worship practices as gram sabha chairpersons.
Marandi argued that section 4(a) of the PESA Act, 1996, states that any state legislation made regarding panchayats shall be in accordance with customary law, social and religious practices, and traditional management systems of community resources. He stated that customary law refers to beliefs and worship practices that vary among tribal communities.
“According to the PESA Act, 1996, only someone who is connected to traditional beliefs and worship can be the chairperson of the Gram Sabha, and if someone has abandoned these, then according to the Act, they cannot be the chairperson of the Gram Sabha,” Marandi said.
“On the contrary, the rules framed by the Hemant government have deceived the tribal community. The rules include tradition and customs, but the word ‘traditional’ has been omitted. Therefore, the tribal community has objections to this. The Hemant government has taken a decision against the Act. Those who have abandoned traditional beliefs and practices are not entitled to become the head of the Gram Sabha (village council). The exact wording of the Act should be incorporated into the rules and regulations,” he added.
On the issue of challenging the rules in court, Marandi said that while the party has not thought about it yet, it has decided to take the matter to the people’s court, where it would apprise members of the tribal community about deviations from the spirit of the Act.
The BJP leader also hit out at the Congress, whose government had passed the PESA Act in 1996, saying the Congress party is allowing the rights of tribals to be plundered for the sake of power.
“It is surprising that the then Congress-led central government enacted the PESA Act in 1996 to protect and promote the traditional customs, beliefs, and worship practices of the tribal community. Today, the same Congress party, for the sake of power in Jharkhand, is attacking the very spirit of the Act. They are infringing upon the rights of the tribal community. Those who have abandoned traditional beliefs and practices are being given power,” Marandi said.
Reacting to the development, the in-charge of the Jharkhand Congress media department, Satish Paul Munzi, termed the allegations baseless and a well-planned political conspiracy aimed at spreading confusion, fear, and distrust among the tribal community.
“It is extremely unfortunate that those who could not even muster the courage to implement the PESA Act during their long tenure are now pretending to be experts on the same PESA Act and are deliberately creating confusion. The coalition government wants to clarify that the PESA rules have been drafted after considering the Constitution, Supreme Court directives, high court observations, extensive public consultations, and discussions with all MPs and MLAs. These rules do not weaken tribal self-governance but rather provide it with constitutional strength,” Munzi said.
