The day the Jharkhand Government was busy in making Statehood Day memorable on Friday, AJSU party staged a ‘mahadharna’ demanding special status for the State. As many as 10,000 party workers staged a dharna at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi for making their voice audible to the Central Government.
Speaking on the occasion, Sudesh announced that if special status to the State is delayed any further, people will march towards Delhi to push their demand. “Jharkhand has more than 40 per cent of mineral resources which are being exploited by others due to which the State is not able to flourish,” said Sudesh.
“The right of the State has not been given so far…it is the time to knock at the Centre’s door,” he added. AJSU also changed its slogan for the special status — ‘Vishesh rajya ke vaste… sangharsh ke raste’ to ‘vishesh rajya ke vaaste….. Dilli ke raste’.
“We have come here again to establish the real motive of division of State. Mere division of boundaries was never the motive of our demand for the division of united Bihar,” said the AJSU chief.
“We are sitting here at Jantar Mantar not for our political gain or loss, but for the rights of the people of the State,” Sudesh said.
He also said that Jharkhand has the potential to become the most prosperous State in the country, but it did not prosper because of the anti-Jharkhand policies adopted by the Centre since it came into existence.
“The party had to resort to the movement path after the Centre said that Jharkhand did not fulfill the parameters for giving special status to a state,” he pointed out.
“The Raghuram Rajan Committee report, however, gives strength to our demand of special status for the State. The nation cannot prosper keeping aside Jharkhand,” said Sudesh.
“We have come here to hall-bol for ensuring decision making on state matters in Ranchi rather than taken in Delhi,” he said. Those who can fight for their state, they can also run that state. To ensure this we will have to show our political face to Delhi,” he said.
Expressing displeasure over not getting permission to pay homage at the statue of Bhawan Birsa Munda at Parliament, he said the people of Jharkhand were deliberately kept aside from there under a conspiracy. “A son of soil of Jharkhand was not permitted to enter Parliament to pay homage to his hero — Birsa Bhgawan, who sacrificed his life for the country,” he said. He also warned the Centre that the people of Jharkhand will give answers to it.
Earlier, thousands of party workers marched towards Jantar Mantar with traditional ‘nagaras’ (drums) from Ambedkar Bhawan to take part in ‘mahadharna’. later, a delegation of senior party leaders presented a memorandum of demands to the Rashtrapati Bhawan.
“The mahadharna was quite successful where thousands of people took part in it,” said the former deputy chief minister. “Today, we presented a memorandum listing our demands and hope to meet the President tomorrow,” he added.
Calling it the second Ulgulaan (movement) as justice was never done with the State since independence, Sudesh reiterated that the special status is the demand of the people of the State which must be granted. The movement will be continued till special status is not granted to the state.
AJSU has launched a phase-wise movement from observing day-long fast at district level to staging mahadhana at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi in order to make their voice audible to the centre.