The JMM, which is heading the ruling coalition government in Jharkhand (with Congress and RJD), challenged the Prime Minister and Union home minister to announce the inclusion of the Sarna religion code in the census during their respective visit to the poll-bound state later this month.

“We have read in the media about the visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union home minister Amit Shah to our state this month. The tribals would be ever grateful if the Prime Minister and the Union home minister announced the inclusion of the Sarna dharma code for tribal in the census during their visit. We are looking forward to their announcement,” said JMM central general secretary and spokesperson Supriyo Bhattacharya at Ranchi on Thursday.

The majority of tribals in Jharkhand are Sarna followers and nature worshipers have been fighting for a separate religious identity in India for decades and in recent years have staged agitation in Delhi and other parts of the country.

Tribals argue that the implementation of a separate Sarna religious code in census surveys would allow the tribals to be identified as followers of the Sarna faith. Tribal organisations have claimed that with the Centre dropping the “Others” option from the religion column for the next census, Sarna adherents would be forced to either skip the column or declare themselves members of one of the six specified religions: Hindu, Muslim, Christian, Buddhist, Jain and Sikh.

Jharkhand chief minister Hemant Soren has alleged during a public function that the Jharkhand Assembly had passed a resolution in a special session in 2020 demanding the Sarna dharma code to be included in the census and submitted it through the governor to the Centre. But claimed that no decision has been taken by the BJP-led Central government on the issue. He had also written a letter to the Prime Minister in this connection in September 2022.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be visiting the state to transfer the first instalment of funds into the bank accounts of 1.13 lakh beneficiaries of the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY) at Jamshedpur on September 15. He is also scheduled to flag off several Vande Bharat trains and launch railway projects.

Union home minister Amit Shah is likely to sound the poll bugle in Jharkhand by flagging off BJP’s ‘Parivartan Yatra’ from Dumka on September 21. Shah will be joined by the Chief Ministers of four states — Uttar Pradesh, Odisha, Chhattisgarh, and Madhya Pradesh.

As per BJP party sources in order to “expose the failures” of the ruling JMM-led alliance government in the state, the BJP will organise six ‘Parivartan yatras’ ahead of the polls. The yatra is being considered crucial for the party in Jharkhand, where BJP is eyeing a comeback.

‘Parivartan Yatra’ will be against corruption, false promises, deteriorating law and order, rising crimes against women, illegal infiltration, changing demography and other issues,” said a Ranchi-based BJP leader.

Bhattacharya further expressed hope that both the Prime Minister and the home minister should show their ‘seriousness’ towards the development of Jharkhand by “paying outstanding coal royalties of ₹1.36 lakh crore”.