BJP won’t allow anyone to play with your ‘Maati, Roti, Beti’: Modi in Jharkhand
Prime Minister Narendra Modi accused the Jharkhand government of taking all wrong decisions to harbour Bangladeshi infiltrators
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday accused the JMM-Congress-RJD government in poll-bound Jharkhand of harbouring Bangladeshi infiltrators and said that a conspiracy was being hatched to change the identity of Jharkhandi with reduction in tribal population, especially in Santhal Parganas region.
Addressing two back-to-back rallies in Santhal Parganas division in Sararh and Godda assembly seats, which are going to polls in the second phase on November 20, Modi also accused the incumbent government of being knee deep in corruption.
“You love your identity as a Jharkhandi. What will happen if identity is lost. The statistics show that the tribal population in the state has halved in Santhal Parganas. Your ‘Jal, Jungle, Jameen’ (water, forest, land) is being taken over. We need to save both the tribals as well as Jharkhand,” Modi said.
“A big conspiracy is on to change the identity of Jharkhand. And the JMM-Congress government is taking all wrong decisions to harbour the infiltrators. Their documents are being made overnight. Tribal girls are being targeted in the guise of marriage. Your land as well as livelihood is being taken away.... I assure you that the BJP-NDA government will not allow anyone to play with your Maati (land), Roti (livelihood) and Beti (daughter),” he added.
The prime minister’s statement is in sync with the BJP’s allegation that Bangladeshi infiltration has led to reduction in tribal population and demographic change, especially in Santhal Parganas. The saffron party has made it a major poll issue in the ongoing assembly elections.
Addressing the rally in Sarath, where BJP’s Sita Soren is taking on Congress minister Irfan Ansari, Modi hit out at the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) for being mum on the “foul language” used by Ansari against Sita Soren.
“The Congress has a history of insulting the tribals. A Congress minister used such a foul language against Sita Soren. Why did he dare to do so? Because they know JMM would do nothing. The JMM just for power don’t utter a word for Sita Soren. The Congress has had a history of being against tribals. They tried their best to defeat Droupadi Murmu when we fielded her for President. They still miss no opportunity to disrespect her,” Modi said.
Accusing the JMM-Congress-RJD government of having looted the state, Modi alleged that several schemes of Centre, including housing and tapped drinking water scheme, could not reach many corners due to corruption of the state government.
“Where does all this money go? It was this corruption money that we saw as a heap of notes on TV. We would spare none,” added Modi.
Reacting to the charges, JMM spokesperson Manoj Pandey said the prime minister seems to have forgotten that it was the BJP government led by Raghubar Das that tried to take away the identity of the tribals.
“Either the prime minister has not been briefed, or he is deliberately forgetting it. Jal, Jungle, Jameen is the identity of tribals. And CNT (Chota Nagpur Tenancy) Act and SPT (Santhal Pargana Tenancy ) Act are the best tools to protect them. And it was the double engine government under his watch that tried to amend these Acts to take away tribal land and give it to corporate friends. And if he has reports of infiltration, he should sack his home minister Amit Shah whose mandate is to guard the borders,” said Pandey.