A screengrab of the protest rally, courtesy X handle of Babu Lal Marandi
RANCHI: A fresh row has erupted in poll bound state of Jharkhand after the Bhartiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM), youth wing of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) held a protest march (Aakrosh Rally) in state capital Ranchi on Friday, August 23.
The rally was called against the poll time promises made by the incumbent Chief Minister Hemant Soren who according to the protestors has failed to fulfil the promises made to the youths of the state. Prominent demands raised by the protesting workers of the BJYM included unemployment allowance, regularisation of contract workers, fair examination, five lakh government jobs and a Central Bureau of investigation (CBI) probe into the JSSC-PGT exam which has been in the controversy lately for alleged irregularities.
An impressive gathering of youths under the banner of BJYM marching towards the Chief Minister’s resident however met with the strict arrangements made by the police to foil any such attempt. The police also resorted to tear gas shell firing and use of water canon to stop the advancing protestors injuring a few in the process.
Several senior party leaders including the former Chief Ministers of the state, Babu Lal Marandi and Arjun Munda too participated in the gathering organised at the Mohrabadi ground following which the protestors marched towards the CM’s resident only to be stopped by the barricades and barbed wires installed by the police. Further the police also use light force to disrupt the advancing protestors.
Though the same doesn’t boded well with the opposition leaders who called it an act to suppress the voice of the youth. “This is dictatorship; this has never happened in the past. Teargas shells and barbed wires were used to suppress the voice of the youth. This showcases their fear, this government will soon be removed, said Amar Kumar Bauri, the Leader of Opposition in the state assembly.
Another senior leader Babu Lal Marandi too trained guns at the government for strict handling of the protestors by the police. Marandi alleged that the response of the administration was undemocratic as teargas shells were fired when he was addressing the gathering.
Demanding a judicial inquiry into the matter Marandi on X said that “Today during my speech, some tear gas shells were fired, a few of them were even parallel to the stage. We demand a judicial inquiry into the undemocratic manner in which the youth, unemployed were prevented from participating in the protest along attempts made to provoke the gathering by unleashing tear gas shells and causing obstruction during my speech.”
Later the BJP leaders also paid a visit to the Rajendra Institute of Medical Sciences (RIMS) to take stock of the injured youths and other protestors being treated there after sustaining injuries during the march.
However, refuting the allegations of the BJP leaders, the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) leader Supriyo Bhattacharya in a press conference alleged that the protest called by the BJP was not in favor of the Jharkhand residents thus it failed. “The intentions of the unruly workers who came to the BJP rally were not good, Ranchi police acted with restraint, due to which a major accident was averted,” added Bhattacharya.
Notably, the state is set to hold state assembly elections in the later part of the year where the main opposition BJP is eyeing a comeback banking on the issue linked to corruption, unemployment, law and order and Bangladeshi infiltration. Though on the other hand the JMM led ruling alliance is too hoping for a return of power through securing a major chunk of tribal voters which culminated in an impressive show for the alliance during the recently concluded Lok Sabha polls.
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