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Soren govt crippling urban body governance: Marandi
Through a message on X, Marandi alleged that the state government suppressed the democratic rights of urban citizens by refusing to hold timely elections. He claimed that the government moved toward the current civic polls only after facing “repeated reprimands” from the judiciary.
Leader of Opposition and former chief minister Babulal Marandi launched a scathing attack on the Hemant Soren-led government on Sunday, accusing it of deliberately crippling urban governance and fostering a “system of illegal extortion” across Jharkhand’s municipal bodies over the last six years.
Through a message on X, Marandi alleged that the state government suppressed the democratic rights of urban citizens by refusing to hold timely elections. He claimed that the government moved toward the current civic polls only after facing “repeated reprimands” from the judiciary.
The BJP leader highlighted that the terms of 15 municipal bodies expired in 2020, followed by the remaining bodies in 2023. Instead of conducting elections, the chief minister opted to run these bodies through appointed administrators.
Marandi specifically targeted the awarding of municipal contracts, claiming that essential services, like sanitation and street lighting, were systematically allotted to individuals associated with the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM). He described the state of urban development as “rampant looting,” asserting that public funds intended for infrastructure were diverted while residents were deprived of basic amenities.
“During this period, an entire system of corruption and illegal extortion was established. Contracts for services like sanitation and street lighting were awarded to people associated with the JMM, leading to rampant looting in the name of urban development and depriving urban residents of their democratic rights,” Marandi alleged.
Marandi further accused the Soren administration of violating the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) currently in place for the urban elections. He claimed that despite the restrictions, the government continues to disregard rules to influence the electoral outcome.
“Making grand promises before every election and then shelving them as soon as the elections are over has become a hallmark of the Hemant Soren government. Despite the Model Code of Conduct being in effect in urban areas, the government is disregarding the rules,” he added.
Marandi warned that the urban population is closely monitoring the government’s failures.
He stated that the JMM-led coalition would have to account for both the “suppression of democratic rights” and the “unbridled corruption” witnessed over the past few years.
“The urban population is watching and understanding everything. The Hemant Soren government will not only have to account for the corruption but also answer for the suppression of the democratic rights of urban citizens,” he said.
Congress Hits Back
In response to Marandi’s allegations, the Jharkhand State Congress launched a counterattack, accusing the previous BJP regime of systemic corruption and “misappropriating” urban development funds between 2014 and 2019.
State Congress spokesperson Sonal Shanti dismissed Marandi’s allegations against the INDIA bloc government as “immature” and an attempt to “shield the failures of former chief minister Raghubar Das and former urban development minister CP Singh”.
Shanti reminded the LoP that during the BJP’s full-term government, the party held almost all key positions, including the urban development ministry and the posts of mayor and deputy mayor in municipal bodies like Ranchi and Medininagar.
“Despite having a double-engine government and BJP-backed mayors, there was destruction instead of development,” Shanti stated. He alleged that a “BJP loot gang” systematically siphoned off development funds, sending a “share to their masters” while leaving urban infrastructure in shambles.
The Congress spokesperson cited the Harmu River rejuvenation project as a “prime example of blatant corruption”.
Shanti claimed that ₹100 crore was spent on cleaning the river, yet it looked cleaner before the project began.
“A prime example of this corruption is the cleaning of the Harmu River in the capital city, which cost ₹100 crore, yet the river looked cleaner before the cleaning process began. The High Court has also sought explanations regarding this matter on several occasions,” Shanti said.
Contrasting the current administration with the previous one, Shanti claimed that the Hemant Soren-led government has shown unprecedented seriousness toward urban residents
. He credited the current government with initiating and constructing much-needed flyovers in Ranchi to ease traffic congestion—projects he claimed were ignored during the BJP’s 17-year rule.
“The construction of flyovers in Ranchi, the capital city, the identification and construction of several new roads to ease traffic congestion, and the initiation of the process for constructing new flyovers are considered significant achievements of the Mahagathbandhan government,” Shanti said.
Shanti advised Marandi to gather complete information from his own party’s former mayors before making public statements.
He further alleged that BJP mayoral candidates are now “shamelessly” appealing for votes by claiming the work done by the INDIA bloc government as their own.
“Marandi should not embarrass his own mayoral and ward candidates with such baseless rhetoric,” Shanti said.
