Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Saturday slammed Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren, dubbing him the “most corrupt CM” who played with India’s healthy democratic practices.
Mr Singh asserted that it was time to dethrone Mr Soren and vote the BJP to power in the eastern state. Assembly elections are due in Jharkhand later in the year.
“Hemant Soren is the most corrupt CM. He has played with India’s healthy democratic practices and indulged in corruption. India will never accept any tainted person,” he said, flagging off BJP’s ‘Parivartan Yatra’ in Itkhori.
No BJP chief minister in the state – Babulal Marandi, Arjun Munda and Raghubar Das – ever faced any corruption charges, he claimed.
The defence minister also attacked Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, alleging that he “tarnished” India’s image abroad and tried to provoke the Sikh community.
“Rahul Gandhi visited the US… He tried to provoke the Sikh community by saying that India is not safe for them. He is tarnishing the image and reputation of India in foreign countries,” Mr Singh said.
He also termed the ruling coalition in Jharkhand – the JMM, Congress and RJD – as three “speed breakers blocking the state’s development”.
Mr Singh hit out at the state government for “patronising” Bangladeshi and Rohingya infiltrators, and said they were marrying “our daughters which won’t be tolerated”, as BJP believes in the politics of justice and not of caste, creed or religion.
He urged people to let the lotus bloom in Jharkhand to accelerate its growth and development.
“We want to change the system here, not only the present regime,” Mr Singh said.
The senior BJP leader said India was progressing fast under Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and as per financial institutions and the NITI Aayog, 25 crore people have come out of poverty under the BJP regime at the Centre in the past 10 years.
He said the country’s credibility on the world stage has grown manifold, which was evident during the rescue operation of Indian students stranded amid the Russia-Ukraine war.
Mr Singh said “tremendous work” has been undertaken in various fields, including housing, road network, potable drinking water and increasing Mudra loans to Rs 20 lakh from Rs 10 lakh earlier.
“Medical colleges would also come up in all districts of the country,” he said.
The defence minister added that the BJP-led central government was committed to the idea of ‘one nation, one election’, and after the cabinet approval, “we will introduce the relevant bill in Parliament”.
This is the third ‘Parivartan Yatra’ by the BJP in Jharkhand, with an eye on the assembly elections. Home Minister Amit Shah had launched the yatra in Sahibganj on Friday.
The marches will cover 5,400 km across 81 assembly segments in 24 districts before concluding on October 2.
Around 50 national and state-level leaders of the BJP, including chief ministers of several states, are expected to participate in these rallies.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
