Tribal population decreasing in Jharkhand's Santhal Parganas due to infiltration: Modi

Dumka: Claiming that the tribal population was decreasing in the Santhal Parganas because of infiltration, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday accused the JMM-led ruling alliance in Jharkhand of "patronising" infiltrators, who he said were grabbing land and putting women at risk.

Addressing an election rally in Dumka, Modi said he had heard that the term "love jihad" was coined by the people of Jharkhand and that efforts were made in one district of the state to change the weekly holiday from Sunday, which was connected to the Christian community, to Friday.

"A big crisis looms over Jharkhand and that is infiltration. The Santhal Parganas is facing the challenge of infiltration. In many areas, the population of tribals is declining fast and the number of infiltrators is on the rise. The infiltrators are grabbing tribal lands. Tribal daughters are the target of infiltrators. Their security and safety are at risk. Their lives are also at risk," he said.

Apparently referring to two incidents that happened in 2022, Modi said, "Tribal daughters are being chopped into 50 pieces... Being burnt alive... Someone's tongue was pulled out. Who are these people who are targeting tribal daughters? Why is the JMM government patronising them?" The PM said that he heard that the term "love jihad" was coined by the people of Jharkhand.

"A friend was telling me that the term 'love jihad' emanated from Jharkhand. The people of Jharkhand have coined this term," he said.

Accusing the JMM of indulging in "communal and appeasement politics", he said that despite Sunday being a holiday since the British era, in one Jharkhand district, it was changed to Friday.

"Sunday is not linked to Hindus but to the Christian community. It has been a holiday since 200-300 years. In one district, they changed the holiday from Sunday to Tuesday. First, they fought with Hindus, now they are fighting with Christians. What is going on?" Modi asked.

"INDI Alliance's politics is based on the formula of communal appeasement, patronising separatists and protecting terrorists... Those who oppose it face the allegation of dividing Hindus and Muslims," he said.

The PM said that the opposition INDIA bloc was providing reservations on the basis of religion.

"It will not be tolerated. Till Modi is alive, reservations cannot be provided for 'vote jihad'," he said.

Modi claimed that when he "unmasked" the "communal and anti-tribal" veil of the opposition, he was accused of dividing Hindus and Muslims.

"They think they can frighten Modi by throwing dirt at him, but they do not know that the more they throw dirt, the more lotuses will bloom... Modi is bound to foil their propaganda of hatred," he said.

Alleging that the JMM-led coalition was looting the state's resources, he claimed that the state was now known for "mountains of cash".

"There are scenic mountains in Jharkhand, but now Jharkhand is known for the mountains of cash being unearthed. I had been CM for 13 years but never witnessed such huge amounts of cash. The JMM and Congress indulged in liquor scam, tender scam, mining and minerals scam, and a scam worth Rs 1,000 crore was unearthed in Sahibganj alone," he said.

"The leaders are such that they don't even hesitate to change the names of their parents to grab land. They have not even spared Army land," he added.

Modi accused the JMM-led alliance of looting the foodgrains sent from the Centre for the poor and selling those in the black market.

Vowing that action against corruption would be intensified in the country after June 4, Modi said scams were routine in the country before 2014 as "Congress indulged in loot 24x7", but after he came to power, he stopped it.

Modi claimed the "INDI Alliance" tried hard to defeat Droupadi Murmu, who is a tribal, in the 2022 presidential polls.

He said the country would see more development work in the next five years than it witnessed in the last 10 years.

He promised to build 3 crore pucca houses for the poor, make 3 crore women "lakhpati" and provide Rs 75,000 to each household under the PM Surya Ghar scheme for installing solar panels.

Modi said the Santhal Parganas region was bound to develop as works for a number of projects were underway, including the Varanasi-Ranchi-Kolkata greenfield expressway and a multimodal logistics hub in Sahibganj.

The PM was campaigning for BJP's Dumka candidate Sita Soren, Rajmahal nominee Tala Marandi and Godda MP Nishikant Dubey. The elections in these constituencies will be held on June 1.