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Nov

Polls in Jharkhand : BJP’s Communal Agenda Remains Unchanged

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Sami Ahmad

New Delhi | Wednesday | 6 November 2024

Union home minister and senior BJP leader Amit Shah announced on November 3 that the BJP will implement the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) if it comes to power in Jharkhand, but his announcement was equally countered with a clear-cut “No” from the state chief minister and Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) leader Hemant Soren.

This take on UCC by Hemant Soren has made the Assembly election very important for the Muslims of Jharkhand as Amit Shah has also said that the tribals (Scheduled Castes) will be kept away from the ambit of UCC.

Jharkhand has 81 Assembly seats and it goes to poll in two phases on November 13 and November 20. The result is slated for November 23. BJP is leading the NDA here with AJSU (All Jharkhand Students Union) and Nitish Kumar’s JDU. Jharkhand Mukti Morcha is the chief ally in the INDIA bloc, along with Congress and RJD.

Article at a Glance

On November 3, Union Home Minister Amit Shah announced that the BJP would implement the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) in Jharkhand if elected, a move met with strong opposition from Chief Minister Hemant Soren of the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM).
Soren declared that neither UCC nor the National Register of Citizens (NRC) would be adopted, emphasizing the protection of Adivasi rights under existing tenancy laws. The upcoming Assembly elections, set for November 13 and 20, are crucial for the Muslim and Adivasi communities, as Shah's comments suggested a divide between these groups. Soren accused the BJP of attempting to incite communal tensions and undermine Adivasi autonomy.
As the election approaches, both parties are intensifying their rhetoric, with Soren urging voters to resist divisive politics. The results will be announced on November 23, shaping the future political landscape of Jharkhand.

While releasing the election manifesto (Sankalp Patra) of BJP in Ranchi, Amit Shah said that the UCC will be implemented in the entire country including Jharkhand but the Adivasi community will be kept out of it. Undoubtedly, Amit Shah is aware that including Adivasis in UCC will be politically self-defeating as he accused ‘Hemant Soren and Company’ was misleading the Adivasis by saying that in UCC their legal and cultural rights will be taken away. He said, “UCC will come to Jharkhand but Adivasis would be completely untouched by it.”

Taking Amit Shah head-on, Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren announced that neither UCC nor NRC (National Register of Citizens) will be implemented in Jharkhand. The mention of NRC is important as both Amit Shah and Prime Minister Narendra Modi are raking up issues of “infiltrators” indicating that Muslims are “Ghuspaithiyas” or infiltrators.

Shah accused that in the Hemant regime, the population of Adivasis was on the decline and the infiltrators were marrying off the ‘Adivasi daughters’. He claimed that if the BJP came to power it would return the land “grabbed by the Bangladeshis”. It is interesting to note that the Hemant government has informed the state High Court through an affidavit that there was no infiltration in the state.

Hemant Soren, while saying that no UCC or NRC will be implemented in Jharkhand, emphasizes that in Jharkhand only CNT (The Chhota Nagpur Tenancy) and SPT (The Santhal Pargana Tenancy) act will be implemented. These two acts protect the rights of the Adivasi people of the said regions. He alleges that the BJP tried to amend and scrap the CNT-SPT act to snatch the ‘security cover’ of Adivasis.

While Amit Shah tried to woo the Hindu voters by promising UCC, Prime Minister Narendra Modi attempted to make this election Adivasis versus the minority Muslim community, though not naming them but referring to them as Bangladeshi Ghuspaithiyas or the infiltrators. Modi alleged that the JMM-led ruling coalition helped the ‘Bangladeshi infiltrators’ in making forged documents and thus staked out the ‘identity, dignity and existence’ of Adivasis.

Mr. Modi made a controversial statement saying “Ghuspaithiye aapki beti ko cheen rahe hain” (The infiltrators are snatching away your daughters). This statement was hugely criticized on social media and it was compared to his statement on Mangal Sutra (They will snatch your Mangal Sutra).

Hemant Soren reposted a pamphlet that asks where are the Bangladeshi infiltrators. It says that by parroting ‘Ghuspaithiya-Guspaithiya’, the BJP is trying to spread hatred. It also says that the aim of such slogans is to supply electricity to Bangladesh and stop the caste census. Hemant Soren also questions why the central government has given asylum to the ousted ex-Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.

Hemant being an Adivai himself is telling the voters that the BJP does not want the Adivasis to be self-reliant. He said that when the BJP could not destabilize his government, they sent him to jail through the ED (Enforcement Directorate). Interestingly, BJP has wooed one of the proposers of Hemant Soren’s candidature in this election to its party. Hemant says that when the BJP failed to frighten him they ‘stole’ his proposer.

Realizing this polarizing strategy by both Modi and Shah, Hemant Soren is telling the people that the BJP is dividing the people in the name of Mandir and Masjid. He cautioned the people to be aware of such elements. He says that the BJP has stooped as low as to bring ‘Hindu-Muslim, Pakistan-Bangladesh and Mutton-Machhli (fish) in the election campaign.

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