Jharkhand: ‘Sunday holiday is not linked to Hindus but to Christian…,’ PM Modi slams JMM’s ‘appeasement’ politics

Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed a rally in Dumka on May 28 about a Jharkhand district’s attempt to change the weekly holiday from Sunday to Friday. PM Modi explained that Sunday holidays in India originated during British colonial rule and noted that this practice is linked to the Christian community.

#WATCH दुमका, झारखंड: प्रधानमंत्री नरेंद्र मोदी ने कहा, "मुझे मेरे एक साथी बता रहे थे कि लव जिहाद शब्द पहली बार झारखंड में आया। झारखंड वालों ने ये शब्द दिया है। हमारे देश में रविवार को छुट्टी होती है। जब अंग्रेज यहां राज करते थे तो ईसाई समाज छुट्टी(रविवार को) मनाता है, ये परंपरा… pic.twitter.com/e4G8ip1fXJ

— ANI_HindiNews (@AHindinews) May 28, 2024

Accusing the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) of indulging in “communal and appeasement politics”, he said, “Sunday is not linked to Hindus but to the Christian community. It has been a holiday for 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?”.

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In 2022, the Jharkhand Government dissolved school management committees and reinstated Sunday as the official holiday. This occurred two years after 43 state-run schools had changed their weekly break to Friday on their own. An investigation by the Jamtara district education office found that some schools in minority-dominated areas had been observing Friday as their weekly holiday for over two years. While Dumka MP and BJP leader Sunil Soren objected to it, Jamtara MLA Irfan Ansari said there was nothing wrong with it as the majority of students belonged to the Muslim community. Dumka MP Sunil Soren had expressed outrage over the change, requesting the Centre to address the issue.

PM Modi said that a school with more than 70 per cent Muslim students is being converted into an Urdu school. He highlighted this as an example of how certain communities influence educational institutions and expressed concern over such changes.

Addressing a gathering in support of BJP candidate Sita Soren, PM Modi accused the Congress party of engaging in “vote bank politics” and neglecting the interests of Dalit and Vanvasi communities.

“The BJP is committed to working for the Dalit and marginalised communities,” adding that the Congress party opposed President Droupadi Murmu, who belongs to the Adivasi community, during her election.

“A big crisis looms over Jharkhand and that is infiltration. The Santhal Parganas are 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,” Modi asked the crowd.

Referring to two incidents from 2022, PM Modi said, “Tribal daughters are being chopped into 50 pieces, burned alive, and someone’s tongue was pulled out. Who are these people who are targeting tribal daughters? Why is the JMM government patronising them?” The PM mentioned that he heard the term “love jihad” was coined by the people of Jharkhand.

PM Modi said that Congress wants to give reservation to Muslims based on religion, which he claimed would undermine the rights of SC, ST, and OBC communities.

“Modi will not allow the reservation of SC, ST, OBC to be looted. When I expose them, the INDI community gets irritated and says that Modi is creating Hindu-Muslim divide. They think that if they tarnish Modi’s image, Modi will get scared! They are still not able to understand that Modi will ensure that their hateful propaganda fails,” PM Modi stated.