Ramgarh (Jharkhand):

Union Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Friday criticised Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren for replacing tribal leader Champai Soren as Chief Minister, alleging that the move was driven by a desire for ‘dynastic control’.

Speaking in Ramgarh, Mr Chouhan accused Mr Soren of prioritising the interests of a single family.

“What was the fault of Champai Soren? You made him the Chief Minister, you could have let him continue, but you removed a tribal Chief Minister. Just because you want to have the hold of just one family…,” Mr Chouhan said.

Meanwhile, during his visit to Ramgarh, Jharkhand, the Union Minister interacted with locals, who shared that while housing approvals under the rural housing scheme have been granted and the installments received, they are still facing issues due to the “policies and corruption of the Soren government in Jharkhand”.

The locals further said, “the sand, which should cost Rs 3,300, is now priced at Rs 5600, making it unaffordable. This significant increase in the price of materials like sand and bricks is creating difficulties in constructing their homes”.

On July 4, Hemant Soren was sworn-in as the 13th Chief Minister of Jharkhand in Raj Bhavan, Ranchi.

Earlier in the day, Mr Chouhan said that significant change in Jharkhand will be seen in the upcoming assembly elections, with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) poised to form a government by defeating the “corrupt, dishonest, and chaotic” current government.

“Now the biggest thing is that the real change will happen in the Assembly elections, the corrupt, dishonest, and chaotic government will go and the BJP will come,” Mr Chouhan said.

Speaking during his visit to Ramgarh, Chouhan emphasised the BJP’s commitment to ending the misrule of the coalition government in Jharkhand. He highlighted the state’s vast potential and called Jharkhand a “wonderful state.”

“I am fortunate to have had the opportunity to come to this holy land of Jharkhand. It is our resolve to end the misrule of the coalition government here. It is a wonderful state and has tremendous potential. The soul of the BJP is our ideology – the philosophy of integral humanism and workers are our life,” Mr Chouhan said.

Mr Chouhan also shared his experiences of visiting and having breakfast with party workers, stating that these interactions brought him great joy.

Further slamming the current government in Jharkhand, the Union Minister said that the state is in very bad condition and the “coalition government is destroying and ruining Jharkhand”.

“The situation that I have seen and the things that the party workers have told me, Jharkhand is in a bad condition; it’s loot everywhere. Seeing this fills my heart with pain. This coalition government is destroying and ruining Jharkhand. This is a government that has not fulfilled a single promise,” Mr Chouhan said.

Mr Chouhan expressed concerns over increasing infiltration in Jharkhand, warning that it jeopardises the state’s future. He promised that the BJP would end the current misgovernance and establish effective governance once again.

“Our workers are filled with enthusiasm. The people are living in a chaotic situation, and they have made up their minds to uproot this coalition from Jharkhand and bring in the BJP,” Mr Chouhan said.

During his visit, Mr Chouhan also engaged with women of Self Help Groups (SHGs) at a panchayat secretariat in Ramgarh. He praised their efforts towards realizing Prime Minister Modi’s vision of ‘Lakhpati Didi’ and acknowledged PM Modi’s initiative to build houses for extremely backward castes.

“Women are working very hard to fulfil PM Modi’s vision of ‘Lakhpati Didi’…PM Modi decided to build houses for extremely backward castes…” Mr Chouhan said.

Meanwhile, in the village of Sugia, a group member proudly showcased handmade brass utensils, mentioning that they fetch a good price in the market. During this time, Lakhpati Didi Sushila presented the Union Minister for Rural Development with a handmade traditional Jharkhandi cap.

The floor test of the new government in Jharkhand, led by Chief Minister Hemant Soren, who took the oath of office for the third time on Thursday, will be held on July 8 during a special session of the Jharkhand Legislative Assembly.

Mr Soren, on June 28, was released on bail in a land scam case after spending around five months in jail.

Champai Soren resigned from the post just five months after taking the oath, setting the ball rolling for Hemant Soren to again take over the role on Wednesday. Champai Soren took oath as the 12th Chief Minister of Jharkhand in the Raj Bhavan on February 2 this year.

Hemant Soren was released from the Birsa Munda Jail on June 28 after nearly five months following bail from Jharkhand High Court in a money laundering case linked to an alleged land scam. He had resigned as Chief Minister before his arrest on January 31.

He was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in January on charges related to an alleged land scam and money laundering. Earlier on December 29, Hemant Soren took the oath as Chief Minister of Jharkhand as the 11th Chief Minister of Jharkhand.

The event was termed as ‘Sankalp Diwas’ by mark the beginning of an era of new Jharkhand.Hemant Soren’s return as CM will bolster the JMM, which won three seats in the tribal-dominated state of Jharkhand in the Lok Sabha elections.

In 2019, JMM fought the assembly elections in alliance with the Congress and Lalu Prasad’s Rashtriya Janta Dal (RJD) and got a comfortable majority with forty-seven seats in the 81-member house.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)