Jharkhand Chief Minister Champai Soren on Sunday alleged that the BJP had ignored indigenous people even though the party was in power in the state for a long time after it was created around two-and-half decades ago.
People voted the JMM-Congress-RJD alliance to power in the state in 2019 but the saffron party did not allow the government to function and tried to destabilise it, Soren said, while addressing a programme in Matkambeda village in Seraikela-Kharsawan district.
On the occasion, he inaugurated 22 development projects worth Rs 71 crore and laid the foundation of 181 projects worth Rs 237 crore. He also distributed assets worth Rs 54 crore among ST, SC, minority and backward class beneficiaries.
"The BJP had tampered with Chhotanagpur and Santal Pargana Tenancy Acts, made attempts to wipe out our existence, did not pay attention to education and ignored Adivasis and Moolvasis during its long tenure in Jharkhand," the CM alleged.
"They even implicated former chief minister Hemant Soren in false cases and sent him to jail. Hemant Soren had implemented various welfare schemes for the benefit of all sections of the society, including poor tribals living in remote areas, despite the fact that economic activities had come to a halt in the entire country during the COVID pandemic," he claimed.
The CM asserted that since he took over the reins of the mineral-rich state following Hemant Soren's arrest, he has been working hard to make Jharkhand an "ideal state" of the country.
"Tribals will be fooled repeatedly if we don't get good education, which is why our government launched Guruji credit card facility to ensure tribal youths willing to pursue higher studies even abroad get to do so at government expenses," he said.
"Money should not be a hindrance for such aspirants as the government would bear their expenses till they get a job and repay it," he said.
He said the state government has also started the construction and distribution of houses under Abua Awas Yojana for tribal masses.
Election to the 81-member assembly in the state is due later this year.
Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by The Telegraph Online staff and has been published from a syndicated feed.
