'Leaders to hover like vultures': Jharkhand CM in apparent dig at BJP's 'Parivartan Yatras'

Garhwa (Jharkhand): In an apparent reference to BJP's 'Parivartan Yatras' scheduled across Jharkhand from Friday, Chief Minister Hemant Soren said that leaders from other states would be seen "hovering like vultures, spreading communal tension."

Addressing a government function – 'Aapki Yojana, Aapki Sarkar, Aapke Dwar' (your scheme, your government at your doorstep) – in Garhwa district on Thursday, the JMM leader said that leaders from states such as Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh would be seen in every village of the state and they would spread communal tension in the name of caste and religion.

The CM unveiled 747 projects worth over Rs 1,198 crore for Latehar and Garhwa districts on the occasion.

"Be alert as a flock of vultures are coming to Jharkhand. They will hover across the state in Kolhan, Palamu, Santhal Pargana and Chotanagpur divisions. You will see leaders from Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh visiting village after village and panchayat after panchayat, spreading communal tension in the name of caste and religion," the CM said.

He said the upcoming election is a fight between the rich and the poor.

"On one side, there is a group of capitalists and on the other, there are tribal, poor, Dalit and backward people," he said.

Hitting out at the BJP, Soren alleged that the previous double engine governments "looted the state with both hands".

"They cannot bear if we work for the upliftment of the poor, senior citizens, women, and youth. If we demand the rights for Jharkhand, then they will send us to jail. They put me in jail and the court reprimanded them," he said.

He alleged that the BJP was indulged in poaching MLAs and ministers.

In an apparent dig at former chief minister Champai Soren, who jumped the ship from the JMM to the BJP, the CM said, "Now, all previous chief ministers have gone to the BJP only to remove one CM. But, no power of theirs can harm me till I have people's blessings." Reacting to the CM's "vulture" remark, BJP spokesperson Pratul Shahdeo termed it a "cheap" political gimmick.

"The CM, who has exploited tribals and strengthened his family's financial condition, is calling us vulture. This is nothing but a cheap political gimmick. Parivartan Yatra will be the last political yatra his government would see," Shahdeo said.

The opposition BJP will launch six 'Parivartan Yatras' in different divisions of Jharkhand from Friday with the goal of exposing the alleged "failures" of the JMM-led alliance government and aiming to "uproot" it from power in the assembly elections.

The yatras will cover 5,400 km in all 81 assembly segments across 24 districts from September 20 to October 3. The yatras will depart from various organisational divisions on different dates.

Elections to the 81-member Jharkhand Assembly are due later this year.