RANCHI: After clinching all five tribal seats in the state, Kalpana Soren has taken an aggressive stand, warning the people of Jharkhand that if they do not stand firmly in support of former Chief Minister Hemant Soren, the BJP will not hesitate to turn Jharkhand into another Manipur.
In a Facebook post, Kalpana Soren termed the death of 84-year-old tribal rights activist and Jesuit priest Stan Swamy as a black spot on India’s democracy and human rights situation. She compared Stan Swamy to Hemant Soren, stating that just as Swamy was silenced by institutional neglect and injustice, Hemant Soren is also facing atrocities in jail.
Swamy, who passed away at a Mumbai Hospital on July 5, 2021, had been languishing in jail since October 8, 2020, after NIA arrested him in Bhima Koregaon case pertaining to the violence which erupted at an event to mark 100 years of the Bhima-Koregaon battle on January 1 in 2018, leaving one dead and several others injured. Father worked tirelessly for the rights of Adivasis and other underprivileged people in Jharkhand for more than three decades. People close to Swamy, however, termed his death as an institutional murder saying that he was arrested on fake charges only to be killed in jail.
Kalpana Soren stated that Stan Swamy's death exemplifies the BJP's policy of suppressing opposition and tribal communities under the guise of combating terrorism and criminalising human rights advocay. Despite his old age and Parkinson's disease, Father Stan, who had been advocating for the rights of tribal communities for decades, was denied bail and appropriate medical treatment due to false terrorism allegations imposed by the BJP government, she said.
“As Father Stan, who raised voice for the most vulnerable class, was silenced by institutional neglect and injustice, the same kind of oppression is being done today on Hemant Soren,” posted Kalpana Soren on Facebook. Today every Jharkhandi needs to stand strongly in support of Hemant Soren, otherwise they will not hesitate turning Jharkhand into Manipur, she added.
Kalpana Soren further added that this election marks the beginning of Jharkhand’s revenge for the wrongful custodial death of Father Stan Swamy.
Reacting on the post, State BJP Spokesperson Pradeep Sinha said that Kalpana Soren must know the reason behind the arrest of Stan Swamy. As far as Hemant Soren is concerned, he has not been put into jail without any reason, he said.
“Country’s renowned lawyers have been defending him both in the High Court and in Supreme Court, but he was not granted bail. This is nothing but an attempt to give a message to a particular community that injustice was done to Stan Swamy,” said Sinha. This is a part of the appeasement politics being practiced by the JMM in Jharkhand, he added.
