Jamshedpur: State BJP leaders today seemed to water down the controversy over the heckling of Chief Minister Hemant Soren during Prime Minister Narendra Modi�s programme in Ranchi yesterday by accusing the JMM of making it a political issue.
�The CM is vainly trying to gain political mileage from the incident. It was a petty incident which should not be taken as an insult of the CM. It is unfortunate that the CM and other JMM leaders in the state have made it a political issue. In fact it is a non-issue since no one wanted to insult the CM,� said state BJP president and MP Dr Ravindra Kumar Rai while speaking on yesterday�s incident at the state BJP headquarters.
Rai rubbished the JMM leaders� demand for an apology on part of the PM as unjustified and presumptuous. �The PM had come to Jharkhand with gifts for the people of the state. He came here for the first time after being appointed the PM. He had promised to put the state on the path of development before the Lok Sabha elections. Now he is keeping his promise by completing the various development projects in Jharkhand and all over the country,� the BJP leader said.
Former CM and BJP leader Arjun Munda too, termed the JMM�s demand for an apology by the PM as unfortunate. �Hemant Soren has lost a golden opportunity to present before the PM his thoughts and agenda as well as demands and proposals for the development of the state. He and other JMM leaders could have effectively taken up various key issues of development before the PM yesterday. But they failed in this crucial task,� he said.
Asked about the hooting of the CM during yesterday�s programme, Munda said the people accused of hooting the CM were actually ranting the air with the name of �Narendra Modi�. He said the video footage of the programme could prove his point and negate the claims of JMM leaders.
Another BJP leader and former MLA of Jamshedpur West Saryu Roy said the members of the crowd gathered during the PM�s programme in Ranchi were just shouting out the name of Narendra Modi throughout the programme. He said no one actually said anything about the CM during the programme.
�No one made any allegation against the CM. Also no one used any unconstitutional words against him. This itself puts question mark on the claim of JMM leaders that the CM was heckled by the mob of BJP supporters and was not allowed to speak,� said Roy.
Roy instead accused the JMM leaders of insulting the PM and termed the burning of the PM�s effigy as shameful. He said the JMM leaders should apologize for their behaviour as they were burning the effigy of the executive head of the Union government.
