PAKUR/DUMKA: Prime Minister Narendra Modi stepped up campaigning in Santhal Pargana for the second phase of the Jharkhand assembly election, calling upon voters to unite and bring BJP into govt if they valued their “roti, beti, and maati (employment, daughters, and land)”.
Ahead of polling on Nov 20 for the remaining 38 assembly seats in Jharkhand, PM Modi addressed election rallies at the temple town of Deoghar and in adjacent Godda district, seeking support for NDA candidates contesting 18 seats in Santhal Pargana region.
His rallies coincided with the first phase of elections when voting was underway in 43 seats across almost half of Jharkhand. Targeting Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, Modi accused Congress of being against the reservation policy and hinted that the demand for a caste-based census is aimed at dividing people and ending reservation benefits enjoyed by them.
“Congress is moving ahead with the dangerous plan of ending reservation so that those lakhs and lakhs of people who stand together on being called Scheduled Tribes, Scheduled Castes, or OBCs do not remain united,” he said, noting that Congress had been wiped out from states in which the SC, ST, or OBC population is dominant.
“Congress understands well that they can never get elected if these people remain united, so ending reservation is important for them. But I decided to fight all such forces and remind you—Ek hain to safe hain (United you are safe).” Targeting the Santhal tribes, Modi said demographic changes in Jharkhand were serious and that the number of tribals in Santhal region had been halved in recent years.
“For electoral and personal gains, Congress and JMM encourage infiltrators to settle here. If this kind of infiltration in Jharkhand continues, not just land and daughters, the entire state will be at risk,” he said. Claiming Congress was anti-tribal and that its politicians demean tribal leaders, Modi cited the example of Sita Soren being abused by a Congress candidate.