Shah says tribal population declining in J’khand, condemns Soren

Union Home Minister and senior BJP leader Amit Shah on Saturday accused Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren of not taking action against illegal immigrants from Bangladesh due to vote bank politics, calling his government the "most corrupt" in the country.

Addressing his party's Vijay Sankalp rally in Deoghar after laying the foundation stone of a nano fertilizer plant, Shah said the tribal population has come down to around 24 per cent from 35 per cent in Santhal Parganas.

“The Hemant Soren government is keeping an eye on changing demographics. Illegal immigrants (from Bangladesh) occupy tribal land. They are exploiting the indigenous girls but the state government is looking the other way because of vote bank politics. Tribal population is decreasing in Sahebganj, Pakur, Godda, Dumka and Jamtara. The backward class population has also come down,” Shah said

The BJP has repeatedly raised the issue of the area's "changing demographics" allegedly due to illegal immigration from Bangladesh. BJP leaders have on several occasions demanded a "mini-NRC" in Santhal Parganas, a political stronghold of the ruling JMM and Congress, to identify illegal immigrants.

Speaking at his second Vijay Sankalp rally in Jharkhand within a month — he addressed a rally in Chaibas on January 7 — Shah described the Soren government as the most corrupt in the country. “Hemant Soren should listen to this with open ears. I have no hesitation in saying that the Jharkhand government is the most corrupt government in the country that is functioning now... some people are making illegal money with their hands when they become ministers and chief ministers. But in this government, he is using tractors and railway wagons for corruption,” Shah said.

Responding to the allegations, JMM spokesperson Manoj Pandey said the statements reflect the "frustration" of the BJP, which is "worried about the rising popularity graph of Hemant Soren, who is the most popular chief minister in the country today".