Prime Minister Narendra Modi during a rally in Jharkhand’s Dumka on Tuesday raised issues of the threat to tribal women from ghuspetiyes and silence of the JMM-Congress-RJD government on calling for holidays on Friday instead of Sundays which has been the practice because of the Christians.

The statement of the Prime Minister at Dumka Lok Sabha seat, the heartland of Santhal Pargana, is significant as it has sizeable populace of Scheduled Tribe (ST) which comprise 35 per cent of the populace and Christians which comprise six per cent.

The Prime Minister was garnering support for BJP candidates for Dumka (Sita Soren), Rajmahal (Tala Marandi) and Godda (Nishikant Dubey). All the seats go to poll on June 1.

Accusing the ruling coalition of the JMM-Congress-RJD (all in INDIA bloc) in Jharkhand of sheltering ghuspetiye, Modi alleged that the safety and lives of tribal daughters are in danger.

“I have been told that Love Jihad (a term coined by BJP leaders for Muslims marrying non-Muslim girls) started from Jharkhand. The Infiltrators are a threat to our daughters. They chop tribal daughters bodies and kill them. The number of tribals are decreasing while that of infiltrators are increasing,” the Prime Minister alleged.

“Why is JMM shielding infiltrators?” Modi asked.

Incidentally, in December 2022 a man identified as Dildar Ansari was arrested for allegedly killing his wife (a tribal woman) and chopping her body in Jharkhand’s Sahebganj falling under the jurisdiction of Borio police station in Santhal Pargana region.

He further criticised the JMM government for silence on attempts to change the weekly break of schools from Sunday to Friday.

“Holidays on Sunday are connected to Christianity and this practice has been followed in our country for hundreds of years. I heard that in one Jharkhand district, they tried to change it to Friday. First there was a fight with the Hindus, now there is a fight with the Christians also. What is going on? This is a dangerous example of their communal politics,” said Modi.

Incidentally, two-state run schools in Muslim dominated area of Jamtara district (also in Santhal Pargana under Dumka Lok Sabha seat) had changed the school holidays to Friday instead of Sunday in 2022. However, a probe was ordered by the district administration and the decision was reversed and school returned back to Sunday holidays.

The Prime Minister accused the JMM-Congress-RJD of looting the state’s resources claiming that the state was now known for “mountains of cash”.

“Scams were routine before 2014 as Congress indulged in loot 24x7, but after Modi came to power, he stopped it,” the Prime Minister said.

“They (JMM-Congress-RJD) are saying that Modi has to be removed, so that they can get a chance to commit scams again. There are so many beautiful mountains here, but Jharkhand is being discussed for the mountains of currency notes. Where is this money coming from? This money is coming from the liquor scam, this money is coming from the tender scam worth crores of rupees, this money is coming from the mines-mining scam. After June 4 (counting of votes), action against the corrupt will be intensified,” warned Modi.

“After forming the government, we will provide new and permanent houses to 3 crore more poor. To eliminate your electricity bills, I have launched the PM Surya Ghar Muft Bijli Yojana, for installing solar panels on your homes. You will use the electricity generated at home and earn money by selling the surplus to the government,” Modi announced.