Chief Minister Hemant Soren
– Photo: PTI
Expansion
The issue of UCC has become heated in Jharkhand assembly elections. After Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s announcement of implementing Uniform Civil Code (UCC) in Jharkhand, Chief Minister Hemant Soren hit back and said that neither UCC nor National Register of Citizens (NRC) will be implemented in the state.
At a rally in Garhwa, Chief Minister Hemant Soren on Sunday stressed that neither Uniform Civil Code nor NRC will be implemented here. Jharkhand will fully comply with the Chhotanagpur Tenancy and Santhal Pargana Tenancy Acts. These people (BJP leaders) are spewing venom and do not care about tribals, natives, Dalits or backward communities.”
Uniform Civil Code will affect tribal laws
Earlier, while releasing the BJP manifesto, Shah said, our government will implement Uniform Civil Code in Jharkhand, but tribals will be kept out of its purview. Hemant Soren and the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) government are falsely propagating that the Uniform Civil Code will affect tribal rights, culture and related laws.
Hemant Soren also made a sharp attack on Shah’s comment that elections being held in two phases is proof that Naxalism has been curbed, whereas earlier elections were held in five phases. Soren compared the BJP to a “drying tree” and vowed to uproot it. He alleged that the BJP aims to displace local residents for mineral wealth.
BJP targeted on infiltration issue
Soren accused the BJP of weakening his government and said the Center has not yet paid coal dues of Rs 1.36 lakh crore to the state for mining by coal companies. Questioning the Centre’s stand on infiltration from Bangladesh, Soren asked why former Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina was allowed to visit India, even though the government had expressed concerns about security.
He said, under which internal agreement was this approved? Border security is the responsibility of the Government of India. Soren defended his government’s welfare initiatives, especially the Maiya Samman scheme, saying the scheme was designed to provide assistance to members of all communities, irrespective of their religion.