The Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) on Friday slammed the ruling NDA government in the State for their apathy towards alleged starvation deaths reported from different corners of the State. Reacting to the alleged starvation death of one Ramcharan Munda in Latehar on Wednesday, JMM General Secretary Supriyo Bhattacharya asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi to “scold” the State Government for its “inhuman” approach towards the poor citizens.
Addressing the media in Ranchi on Friday, Bhattacharya took a jibe at Modi for his scheduled visit to Ranchi on International Yoga Day and asked, “Will Yoga fill the stomach of hungry people of Jharkhand? Does the PM even know that people are dying of hunger and water crisis in our state?”
Bhattacharya said that at least 20 starvation deaths were reported in the State in the past four and a half years and all the Government did was deny responsibility. “Since the death of Santoshi Kumari in Simdega, there have been hunger deaths reported from all corners of the state. Who is responsible for this?” He asked.
65-year-old Ramcharan Munda, a resident of Durg Panchayat in Mahuatand block of Latehar allegedly died of hunger on Wednesday. The local Public Distribution System (PDS) dealer did not provide ration to Munda’s family for the past three months due to failure in biometric authentication, reports said, adding that the area had intermittent Internet connectivity which caused problems in supply of grains to beneficiaries.
Bhattacharya came down heavily on the government on Friday. “The Government only tries to cover up such incidents. The government swings into action only after a death is reported. They pay monetary compensation to the family and give 50 Kilograms of grains. They fail to realise that compensation will not bring a deceased man back,” he said.
The JMM in its manifesto for the 17th general elections had mentioned that addressing PDS anomalies in the State was one of the key agendas of the party.
The party had also promised to make the PDS system manual. However, the party could only win one of the four seats that it contested in Jharkhand, where the BJP swept 11 of 14 seats and its ally AJSU-party won the only seat it contested.
On Friday, the party reiterated its stand by asking the government to make the PDS machinery manual and remove the Aadhaar mandate. Bhattacharya, on Friday, also attacked the Government over water crisis.