The alleged hooting episode of Chief Minister Hemant Soren, during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s programme on Thursday, took an ugly turn on Saturday when BJP and JMM workers clashed while the latter were showing black flags and disrupting the cavalcade of Union Minister for labour and Employment Narendra Singh Tomar at Hinoo Chowk.
At least seven people, including two policemen, were injured during the scuffle which took place between the police and the JMM workers. An FIR has also been lodged by both the sides at Doranda police station and a total of 18 people have been booked in this regard.
Tomar was on a day long visit to Jharkhand to inaugurate an ESIC Hospital at Jamshedpur, around 130 km south of Ranchi. The minister also attended a press conference at Ranchi, before leaving for Jamshedpur. The JMM workers were demanding an apology over the hooting which allegedly took place during Modi's programme at Prabhat Tara Groundon Thursday. The JMM, calling an emergency meeting after the incident, called for Ranchi bandh on Sunday demanding immediate arrest of those who were responsible for the incident which was, however, later withdrawn citing UPSC Preliminary exams to be attended by thousands of students.
The JMM has decided to protest the visit of any Central Minister to Jharkhand until a public apology is not tendered by Prime Minister Modi for the "unseemly" act by BJP activists.
"We condemn the way BJP people attacked the JMM workers injuring five of them who were protesting peacefully before the Union Minister and have decided to observer black day on Sunday," said JMM vice-president Vinod Pandey. JMM workers marched with torch-lights on Ranchi roads on Saturday in the evening,The BJP, on the other hand, raised a question mark on the role of police which could have easily controlled a handful of JMM workers without using force but resorted to lathi-charge which was actually not required at the moment.