Defence minister Rajnath Singh on Tuesday hit out at Jharkhand Mukti Morcha-led ruling alliance in assembly poll-bound Jharkhand, calling them “fused crackers”.
He termed the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) as a “mighty rocket” that would take the state to newer heights. The minister, while addressing an election rally in the state capital, Ranchi’s Hatia, said it was amply clear who would form the government in the state.
Singh referred to Mandal Murmu, who joined the BJP and was one of the proposers of chief minister Hemant Soren’s nomination from the Barhait assembly seat.
“The festival of Diwali has just concluded. The JMM, Congress and RJD are fused Diwali crackers now. BJP is a mighty rocket that alone will take Jharkhand to newer heights,” PTI quoted the minister.
Singh said JMM meant ‘Jamkar Malai Maro’ (skim the cream). He alleged that the JMM “sucks blood of tribals”, and works against their interests.
“I ask Hemant Soren why infiltrators are coming to Jharkhand. Why the state’s tribal population shrank to 28 per cent?” he asked the JMM working president.
“Give BJP two terms, Jharkhand will be in the row of developed states. We will not only change the government in Jharkhand but also change the system,” he added.
PM Modi’s ‘Ghuspaithiya Bandhan’ jibe at JMM
Addressing an election rally in Jharkhand’s Garhwa on Monday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had dubbed the JMM-led alliance as ‘Ghuspaithiya Bandhan’ (infiltrators’ alliance) for “supporting Bangladeshi infiltrators”.
“Appeasement politics has reached its zenith in Jharkhand where the JMM-led coalition is busy supporting Bangladeshi infiltrators. If this continues, the state’s tribal population will shrink. This is a threat to the tribal society and the country. This coalition has become a ‘Gushpaithiya Bandhan’ and ‘Mafia ka Ghulam’,” the prime minister had said.
The Jharkhand Assembly elections will be held in two phases on November 13 and 20, with vote counting scheduled for November 23.
A total of 2.6 crore voters are eligible to participate, including 1.31 crore male and 1.29 crore female voters, as well as 11.84 lakh first-time voters and 66.84 lakh young voters.
In the 2020 Assembly election in Jharkhand, Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) won 30 seats, BJP won 25 seats and Congress won 16. In 2014, BJP won 37 seats, JMM won 19 seats and Congress only won 6 seats.