Working president of the Jharkhand Pradesh Congress Committee (JPCC), Bandhu Tirkey, on Sunday took strong exception to Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) national chief and Union health minister JP Nadda’s remarks alleging that the INDIA Bloc alliance-led state government is being “run by traitors”.
“Calling the democratically elected government in Jharkhand, which was chosen with a massive majority, a government run by traitors is not only an insult to democracy and the voters, but also to the Constitution and the tribals and indigenous people of Jharkhand. It is a direct attack on the aspirations of the common people,” Tirkey said in a press statement on Sunday.
“Nadda should clarify whether, in his and the BJP’s view, the tribals and indigenous people of Jharkhand are traitors. This is especially relevant since, in the last assembly elections in Jharkhand, candidates of the INDIA alliance won 27 out of the 28 seats reserved for Scheduled Tribes,” he added.
Tirkey further said that the BJP government at the Centre is working to crush the rights and entitlements of tribals. He cited the example of how the PESA Act for tribals is allegedly being violated in Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh for the benefit of Adani.
“Suppressing tribals is inherent in the BJP in the states where it is in power. In the BJP government of Madhya Pradesh, 600,000 trees are being cut down in Singrauli district, and 1,358 hectares of forest land and 1,400 hectares where tribals live are being forcibly seized. At the same time, the rights of the tribal people are being suppressed because the Dhirauli coal mine has been allocated to Adani by the Modi government, where 1,500 police personnel are deployed to protect Adani Enterprises, and the tribal people are being forced to relocate,” Tirkey said.
Tirkey also alleged that Nadda was spreading misinformation. “The NDA government is in power at the Centre, and the home minister is also from the BJP. BJP leaders are only spreading misinformation because stopping infiltrators is the responsibility of the central government, and no one has prevented them from doing this. The BJP president’s absurd and baseless statements are nothing more than an attempt to strengthen his own position within his party by making exaggerated claims against the INDIA alliance,” he said.
Meanwhile, BJP spokesperson Pratul Nath Shahdeo rubbished Tirkey’s allegations, calling his statements “misleading”.
“The national president has only talked about ousting intruders. Tirkey has attempted to give his own meaning by adding tribal and moolvasi. The number of tribes has significantly reduced due to intrusion. It has been observed that from 1951 to 2011 the tribal population has reduced by 16 per cent, while the Muslim population has increased by per cent,” he said.
On Adani, Shahdeo said the JMM government has also welcomed the businessman in the state. “The JMM government also has Adani in the state, and Congress is worried about it. It is afraid of being separated from the alliance in the state and is giving statements in accordance with the policy of appeasement,” he said.
