Our single engine performed better than double engine: Hemant Soren in Chaibasa

Accuses BJP of buying JMM leaders, confident of retaining power

Ranchi, October 23: Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren on Wednesday accused the BJP of buying some JMM leaders after the saffron camp “failed to scare” him and “topple” his government in the last five years.

Soren also asserted that the Jharkhand assembly elections this time would be held between two forces- one that represents capitalists and another that stands for tribals, Dalits, poor people, farmers and labourers.

Addressing an election rally at Chaibasa in support of JMM candidate Deepak Birua, the chief minister accused the saffron party of making efforts to topple his government for the past five years.

Birua, a state minister, filed his nomination papers from the Chaibasa assembly constituency on Wednesday.

“They (BJP) have been making efforts to topple our government for the past five years. They sent me to jail but failed to topple the government. After failing to scare me, they bought some of our leaders,” Soren said.

He also alleged that some leaders from his community had become “agents of the BJP as they had taken money”.

Though Soren did not name any JMM leader, he apparently meant former chief minister Champai Soren who recently joined the BJP.

Hemant Soren claimed that several chief ministers of BJP-ruled states and the entire saffron camp machinery are “after a tribal chief minister to dethrone him from power”.

“They (BJP) have nothing to do with the tribal and moolvasi (original inhabitants) of the state. They have been eyeing the mineral resources of the state,” Soren said.

He added that BJP leaders from across the country are camping in Jharkhand.

“The Assam chief minister has been moving in Jharkhand. But, his government has not given the tribal status to 25-30 lakh people who have gone to Assam from Jharkhand. I have written to him to provide the status of tribal to them,” the JMM leader said.

Soren urged voters to exercise their franchise carefully in the elections, and alleged that BJP workers might make an attempt to “steal votes through government machinery and from electronic voting machines (EVMs)”.

He said that his government worked for the development and uplift of tribal, dalit, poor, women, farmers and labourers in the state.

Soren said that they would deliver Rs 1 lakh to every household if voted to power and the amount under Maiyan Samman Yojana would be increased to Rs 2,500 from Rs 1,000 from December.

Hemant Soren said that when his government was formed and started demanding its rights, the BJP people started feeling pain in their stomachs. They started adopting various tactics and those who protect Jharkhandi water, forest, land, were implicated in false cases and sent to jail.

Hemant Soren fiercely targeted the BJP and said that it will not be allowed to come to power under any circumstances. Due to being out of power for five years, their frustration was so strong that they kept plotting to topple the government every day, but our government fought them with full force.

“Our single engine government worked better than their double engine government. Once again the INDIA bloc is going to return to Jharkhand. The Centre owes Rs 1.36 lakh crore to the state and has been denying rightful dues,” claimed Soren

Earlier, in the day, Hemant Soren also addressed a meeting at Ghatshila after JMM candidate Ramdas Soren filed his nomination.