RANCHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi warned the people of Jharkhand to be wary of the Congress-JMM alliance, saying they were only eying the natural resources and will start looting the state again if they come to power. Addressing election rallies at Khunti and Jamshedpur, he also reiterated that the BJP was committed to safeguarding the interests of the tribals so that no one can snatch their rights over ‘jal-jungle-zameen’ (water, forest and land).
The Prime Minister, calling Jharkhand a ‘teenage’ state which has just completed 19 years, appealed to people not to waste the opportunity and cast their votes only for development. He alleged that the Congress and its alliance partners were making false promises and creating an atmosphere of fear only to win elections.
The PM said Jharkhand had seen as many as 10 chief ministers in 14 years due to the egotistic attitude of Congress and JMM leaders, but the BJP had succeeded in giving a CM who remained in chair for five years for the first time.
During the Congress-JMM alliance rule five years back, reports of loot and corruption was very common in the state, whereas no graft charges surfaced against the Raghubar Das government in last five years, he claimed.He also referred to neighbouring states where the Congress is in power, saying these governments were not able to fulfill the promises made to the people before elections, while the BJP had fulfilled all the promises made to the people of Jharkhand and other states.
Modi harps on tribal connect of Lord Ram
While speaking about the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid dispute at a rally in Jamshe-dpur, PM Modi sought to strike a chord with the vast tribal electorate in the state when he talked of Lord Ram’s links with forest dwellers. “Lord Ram left Ayodhya as a prince but returned as ‘Maryada Purushottam’ 14 years later as he spent time with adivasis in forests, imbibed their values,” he said. The Congress only got the Ram Janmabhoomi dispute tangled up, while the BJP disentangle it, he said.