Chief Minister Raghubar Das’ masterstroke of presenting an ‘acceptable’ formula for domicile policy might have gelled well with his Cabinet colleagues but the bickering in the party cadres, especially among the tribal leaders and workers has surfaced once again through seniors.

As many as four lok Sabha MPs shot off a letter to the CM as well as the Governor on Friday seeking correction in the domicile policy announced by the Government on April 7, saying various loopholes in the policy have led to discontent among locals.

Ranchi MP RamTahal Chaudhary, Khunti MP Karia Munda, Chaibasa MP lakshman Gilua and Jamshedpur MP Vidyut Varan Mahto have sent jointly signed letters to the Governor and the CM seeking clarifications of ambiguity in the policy and correction in certain areas that, they believe, is making locals vulnerable to deceit by the outsiders.

The letters sent to both the Governor and the CM, having similar content, state that the announcement of domicile policy was a welcome move by the Government. However, there is a lot of scope for correcting the drawbacks in the policy. “There is resentment and anguish among tribal residents and local population in the State due to certain issues in the policy. It should be ensured and made clear that in Class III and Class IV jobs only tribals and original habitants of Jharkhand get reservation,” it states.

The letter further states that it should be clearly mentioned in the domicile policy that people residing in the State after the cutoff date of 1985 are not included in the list of those having domicile of Jharkhand. “A person should get domicile of only one State. There are many people who are taking benefits of domicile of two States. Those coming from other States must be asked to submit a No Objection Certificate from other States before getting the domicile certificate of Jharkhand,” it says.

The MPs have stressed on the issue that according to earlier discussions with the CM only people of Jharkhand, including tribals  and Moolvasis should get Class III and Class IV category of jobs. They have asked the CM to issue strict instructions to Government officials so that no person takes double benefits of domicile here.

The MPs requested the CM to revise the domicile policy correcting the loopholes in it so that an environment of peace and brotherhood remains in Jharkhand and people of the State get a positive message from the Government.

"We have written about only those issues to the CM about which he has been discussing. There are certain points in the policy that appear vague to a common man. We have asked the CM to make it more clear and flawless," said Ranchi MP Ram Tahal Chaudhary.

Senior BJP leader Karia Munda, who is MP from Khunti constituency, said that he was concerned about the rights of the tribal people and has sent the message very clearly to the CM.

Notably, the Domicile Policy of the State, announced recently by the Government attracted criticism from Opposition parties, who called it anti-tribal. While the JMM has started a statewide protest against the policy, the JVM and the Congress are echoing similar voices. The Opposition has contended that the policy has neglected the tribal population of the State that has been subjected to oppression and negligence for centuries.