Congress MLA, Irfan Ansari
In a shocking development in Jharkhand, a congress MLA (member of the legislative assembly) from the Jamtara constituency, during his speech in the assembly, made a derogatory remark against the tribal (Adivasi) community on August 1.
Speaking in the assembly Irfan Ansari, the two-time MLA from Jamtara, while referring to senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Babulal Marandi, said, “How can Babulal become so smart? I cannot figure out how an Adivasi can be so smart.
The Congress lawmaker’s remarks against the tribal community soon sparked a row as the BJP leaders from the state and at the centre linked it to the anti-adivasi sentiment within the Congress party. Demanding an immediate apology, BJP MLAs from the state also raised slogans against the Congress MLA on August 3.
While Slamming the congress party for their anti-adivasi mindset, BJP leader and national spokesperson Sehjad Poonawala In a video message, said that Congresses anti-adivasi mindset has been exposed yet again, an MLA from Jharkhand, Mr Irfan Ansari, who is very closed to the congress leadership stands up in the assembly and said that “ye Adivasi itne tez kaise ho sakte hain”.
“This means he is questioning the wisdom of the Adivasi society, and this is not the first time; earlier, Ajay Kumar, the spokesperson of Congress, had said Draupadi Murmu ji has an evil mindset because she comes from the Adivasi community. We have seen the manner in which the Adivasi community was insulted by Adhir Ranjan Chaudhary, who said Rashtrapatni instead of Rashtrapati. This is the kind of approach they have towards the Sc and St society. Will Rahul Gandhi open his mouth and say something about the insult hyped on the Adivasi community by Irfan Ansari? Added Poonawala.
After the incident video went viral on social media, the congress MLA while trying to clarify the issue, said, “If you see the proceedings, Adivasis were never insulted. I said, “How did Babulal get so smart?” Earlier, he was secular. He became an MLA with the votes of Dalits, Adivasis and Minority. But once he entered the BJP office, he started spewing venom. That was the sense of What I said. I am the biggest well-wisher of Adivasis in the state.
However, taking to Twitter, Babulal Marandi, while highlighting the other such remarks made by the congress leaders, said that ” when the prime minister had made a Adivasi woman ‘the president’ of India, congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chaudhary had insulted her by calling her ‘Rashtrapatni’, another leader from the congress party had also termed her an evil force, others opposition parties had time and again also reminded the president of the marginalized society in which she was born.”
“Babulal Marandi is only a small worker of the BJP born in an Adivasi family. You can abuse me but you should not insult my community. Congress and their partners are representatives of aristocratic and elite mentality, they have considered Dalits, Adivasis, Women and the deprived as their slaves”, added Marandi.
It should be noted that this is not the first time that Irfan Ansari has been caught up in controversy, and earlier, the Congress MLA had also sparked similar controversies through his remarks. The Congress MLA had also ignited a row after he termed the Mahamaga constituency ‘Mini Pakistan’ in May this year. The controversial leader at that time said that to defeat the BJP leader Nishikant Dubey in the Godda Lok Sabha constituency, a Muslim candidate must fight the election against him as the Madhupur, Jarmundi and Godda regions have a significant Muslim population.
It is pertinent to mention here that the state of Jharkhand has a significant tribal population, constituting a decisive vote share in the state assembly elections. However, the BJP has been alleging the incumbent government for failing to safeguard the rights of the tribal community by failing to contain the large-scale infiltration of the Bangladeshi and Rohingya immigrants in the state in recent years.
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