Ranchi, August 25: Jharkhand Health Minister Dr. Irfan Ansari on Monday launched a scathing attack on the BJP, calling the massive protest against the proposed RIMS-2 project “sponsored” and accusing the party of siding with land brokers instead of supporting better healthcare for the people.
Ansari said that his government is determined to build RIMS-2 to strengthen healthcare facilities in the state. “Our government wants to make Jharkhand disease-free, but the BJP wants to push the state towards illness,” Ansari told reporters, adding that health is a sensitive matter and should not be used for protests.
The Minister also alleged that the land where BJP is opposing the construction of RIMS-2 is actually targeted by land brokers. He said that the BJP does not want RIMS-2 to be built there so that these brokers can benefit.
As per Ansari, local residents were not part of the agitation. “The people who protested were brought from outside to create trouble,” he alleged.
Meanwhile, Ansari further claimed that during the protest on Sunday, several policemen were assaulted and many suffered broken legs. He assured that the entire incident is under investigation.
Ansari added that within just five months, the state health department has regained momentum, but the opposition is attempting to derail the government’s efforts. “Politics should not be done on the issue of health. The state’s health system has finally taken the right direction,” he said.
Earlier on Sunday, on the call of former Chief Minister and BJP MLA Champai Soren along with the Nagdi Jamin Bachao Sangharsh Samiti, people ploughed fields and planted paddy in Nagdi under Kanke block. The protest led to a police lathicharge, during which tear gas shells were also fired. Before this, Champai Soren had been placed under house arrest.
Reacting to the incident, Soren had accused the state government of being anti-tribal and alleged that the government wants to forcibly take away the fertile land of farmers in Kanke’s Nagdi area.
