Ranchi, August 26: The ongoing monsoon session of the Jharkhand Assembly on Tuesday witnessed high drama as the BJP MLAs, led by Leader of Opposition and State President Babulal Marandi along with Chief Whip Navin Jaiswal, staged a protest over the alleged “planned change in state’s demography.”
Before the House proceedings began, BJP legislators raised slogans in the Vidhan Sabha portico, accusing the Hemant Soren-led government of ignoring such a serious concerns. The premises reverberated with their demand to stop the alleged demographic change and take strict action against illegal infiltrators.
Marandi alleged that the demographic balance in every assembly constituency was being altered “in a planned manner.” He also criticised Congress and other opposition parties for objecting to the State Identification Register (SIR) exercise, demanding they clarify their stand. “If the government refuses to answer opposition’s questions, how will the House function?” he said.
Meanwhile, Marandi, the former Jharkhand Chief Minister, also reiterated BJP’s demand for a CBI probe into the Surya Hansda encounter case and the return of Nagdi land to farmers, enabling them to get land receipts as before 2012.
Echoing Marandi’s concern, Jaiswal asserted that opposing the SIR was unjustified. “During elections, many voters appear who are never seen otherwise. Genuine voters should remain on the list while fake ones must be removed. Voter ID is the biggest proof of citizenship, and the presence of illegal residents threatens national security,” the Hatia MLA said.
He further alleged that the number of Bangladeshi infiltrators in Jharkhand was rising alarmingly. “If you ask the labourers at crossroads who are working as ‘Reza’, they will tell you most of them are Bangladeshis. Such people should not just be deleted from lists but deported,” Jaiswal added.
