After successful fasting programme at the district headquarters on August 30, AJSU party will be holding day-long fasting programme today at all 259 block offices demanding special status for the State.
Former Science and Technology Minister Chandra Prakash Chaudhary while talking to the media persons here on Thursday said that thousands of AJSU workers will sit on a day-long fasting on September 13 at block offices of all the 24 districts in the State.
later, a memorandum will be sent to the President of India demanding special status for the State through the respective block development officers, he added.
“With an intention to propagate the message of the people of Jharkhand to Delhi, the party has also decided to get involved in national politics and will be contesting elections in all the 14 lok Sabha constituencies in the State,” said Chaudhary, adding the party has directed all its cadres to form booth committees and strengthen the organisation.
“As special status has become a necessity for the people of Jharkhand, we have been demanding it from the centre. We will fight for it to the hilt,” he added.
Referring to the Congress stand, Chaudhary said that some of the parties are saying that Jharkhand does not need special status as it is self sufficient having adequate natural resources .
“They must understand that despite having adequate mineral wealth in the State, we do not have any control over it. The Centre takes decisions on the use of these minerals due to which, the development of the State has been hampered,” he said.
Despite fulfilling all the parameters identified in the Gadgil formula adopted by the National Development Council in the year 1969 to give special status to any State, Jharkhand has not yet been given special status for it, said the former Minister.
Coming down heavily on Union Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh, Chaudhary accused him of plundering the State through his regular visits and also creating hurdles in the working of technical officers.
“He has made Jharkhand a grazing field, plundering the State during his regular visits. He is also creating hurdles for technical officers in the State who are not able to work independently in their fields,” he said.