PATNA: Senior JD-U leader Nitish Kumar Friday accused the BJP of trying to divide society in Jharkhand by naming non-tribal Raghubar Das as the new chief minister.
"After the formation of Jharkhand 14 years ago, there is a tradition of a tribal chief minister in the state.But BJP has broken this tradition announcing the name of Raghubar Das, a non tribal as chief minister," the former Bihar chief minister said.
Das, who will be sworn-in Sunday is the first non-tribal to head Jharkhand where tribals comprise 27 percent of the population.
Nitish Kumar told media here that Bharatiya Janata Party has made it clear that it has no faith of tribals.
"In politics, there should be an attempt to work for unity of society. But society in Jharkhand will be divided with Raghubar Das as chief minister because tribals will feel alienated and ignored. BJP's decision to appoint a non-tribal chief minister will made tribals uncomfortable," he claimed.
Nitish Kumar recalled that Bihar's division and creation of a new Jharkhand state was result of neglect of tribals.