RANCHI: Accusing the Congress, Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM), and Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) of opposing the Special Summary Revision (SIR) of the electoral rolls for the sake of vote-bank politics, State BJP President and Leader of Opposition, Babulal Marandi, underlined the SIR’s importance, claiming Bangladeshis and Rohingya Muslims were fraudulently being made voters in the state.
Marandi said on Wednesday that this was an alarming situation for Jharkhand, but its direct and immediate impact was being felt most acutely in the tribal society.
He alleged the three parties were doing more than settling Bangladeshi and Rohingya migrants in Jharkhand. “The state government’s opposition to the SIR clearly shows its intention. They do not just want to rehabilitate these outsiders but also make them voters, so that elections in Jharkhand can be tilted in the favour of Congress, JMM, and RJD.”
Referring to reported demographic changes in Santhal Pargana, Marandi said that there are dozens of cases of Rohingyas or Bangladeshis marrying tribal women and even becoming Mukhiyas and Zila Parishad members. If this situation persists, they will also become MPs and MLAs, he charged.
Citing census figures, Marandi claimed Jharkhand’s tribal population has declined from 35.38% in 1951 to 26.20% in 2011, while the Muslim population grew from 8.9% pc to 14.53% in the same period.
The overall Hindu population, he claimed, dropped from 87.79% in 1951 to 81.17% in 2011. “This increase cannot be natural. Continuous infiltration from Bangladesh is the main reason,” Marandi alleged.
The Leader of the Opposition also presented data from voter lists to support his claims. Between 2014 and 2019, the national growth in voters was 9.3%, while Jharkhand recorded only 6.2%. However, between 2019 and 2024, Jharkhand saw a 16.7% increase compared to the national average of 10.1%. “This clearly shows what is happening under the present state government,” he said.