The Jharkhand Pradesh Congress Committee (JPCC) and Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) on Friday mocked Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) bigwigs JP Nadda and Nitin Gadkari for their claims that the Raghubar Das Government’s efforts almost freed Jharkhand from the shackles of Left Wing Extremism (LWE).
The paradox is that the Election Commission of India (ECI) decided to hold elections in five phases here on the basis of the possibilities of an LWE attack during the polls, the UPA allies said. “BJP ministers’ claim that their Government freed Jharkhand from Naxalism is laughable. The ECI has already clarified that 19 of 24 districts in the State are still LWE affected and 67 of 81 Assembly segments here have Naxal presence,” said JPCC Spokesperson, Lal Kishorenath Shahdeo. BJP’s Executive President JP Nadda and Union Minister of Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari on Friday addressed election rallies in Latehar and Bishrampur constituencies respectively.
While addressing the rallies, both the leaders claimed that the five-year regime of the BJP Government in Jharkhand pushed Maoist on the back foot and almost freed the State from LWE menace – a statement that is not in complete accordance with the latest Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) report and the ECI’s take on extremism in Jharkhand.
JMM General Secretary Supriyo Bhattacharya accused the BJP of misleading voters by claiming that extremism has ended in Jharkhand. Addressing media persons in Ranchi, he said, “Yesterday, the Chief Election Commissioner said that Maoism still has active presence in 67 Assembly constituencies.
And today, BJP leaders are saying that the BJP has ended extremism. This proves that the party only believes in misleading voters.”
The JPCC also saw red in Nadda’s accusation on Congress party of not doing enough for the tribal community during the 70 years of UPA rule in India. Reacting to his remarks, Shahdeo said that the Congress party introduced the Panchayati Raj system in India, which led to development of villages and prosperity of villagers.
“BJP has ruled Jharkhand for 15 years and the honorable Chief Minister has been a part of all the Cabinets under the BJP rule here. The fact that he still talks about corruption in former Governments is self-explanatory and evidence to his corrupt practices,” said Shahdeo.
Congress party, JMM and Lalu Prasad-led Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) have united against the BJP in Jharkhand. The BJP, on the other hand, has broken its ties with former ally AJSU Party and will contest the elections alone.
The UPA allies have unanimously decided that JMM will contest 43 seats, while Congress party and RJD will contest 31 and seven seats respectively.