UCC in Jharkhand If BJP Wins: Shah

New Delhi/Ranchi: Releasing the BJP's "Sankalp Patra" (manifesto) for the Jharkhand Assembly election in Ranchi, Union home minister Amit Shah on Sunday announced that the party will implement the Uniform Civil Code in Jharkhand if voted to power in the state, but will keep tribals out of its ambit.

At an event to launch the BJP's Sankalp Patra, Shah released 25 key points of the saffron party's manifesto. He also lashed out at the Hemant Soren government, alleging that women are not safe in Jharkhand and the tribal population is decreasing in Santhal Pargana because the JMM-led government is "patronising Bangladeshi infiltrators for votebank politics". He also announced that a displacement commission will be formed to ensure the rehabilitation of people displaced by industries and mines in the state.

Speaking after releasing the party’s manifesto in Ranchi, Shah said, "Our government will introduce UCC in Jharkhand, but tribals will be kept out of its ambit. Soren and the JMM government are spreading false propaganda that UCC will impact tribal rights, culture and relevant legislation, which is totally baseless as they will be kept out of its ambit."

The Union home minister noted that though UCC will be implemented, it will ensure that tribal rights are not impacted.

"The BJP, if voted to power in Jharkhand, will deliberate on the Sarna religious code issue and take appropriate decisions," Shah said.

On the issue of employment, Mr Shah stated that the BJP, if voted to power, will create five lakhs job opportunities, including 2.87 lakhs government jobs, in Jharkhand.

Launched a scathing attack on the JMM-led government in Jharkhand over the Bangladeshi infiltrators issue, the Union home minister noted that the BJP will bring in a law to take back land from infiltrators in Jharkhand and identify and deport the illegal immigrants. He claimed that "Mati, Beti, Roti" (land, daughter and food) are under threat from the illegal immigrants and the BJP will provide security to the indigenous people.

Shah alleged that the local administrations encourage infiltration in West Bengal and Jharkhand.

"Crimes against women rose by 29 per cent during the five-year tenure of the corrupt and insensitive Hemant Soren government, while rape cases saw an increase of 42 per cent during the period," Shah further alleged.

Shah accused the JMM-led government of patronising infiltrators while claiming that the tribal population in the state is dwindling and demography is changing fast. The Union home minister announced Operation Suraksha, promising to end human trafficking in Jharkhand by 2027, besides the elimination of Naxalism from the state in the next two years.

Shah further stated that voters will have to choose between the "corrupt JMM government that patronises infiltrators" and the BJP, which doesn't allow anyone to cross the border illegally.

"Hindus are under attack and appeasement is at its peak. Jharkhand is the most corrupt state in the country," he said.

Shah also announced that there will be CBI and SIT probes into "paper leaks" in competitive exams in Jharkhand and culprits will be put behind bars.

The BJP manifesto provides that the Jharkhand Staff Selection Commission Combined Graduate Level (JSSC-CGL) competitive exam will be cancelled and the Central Bureau of Investigation will investigate the previous CGL exams and all major paper leak cases. Besides, it promises to make Jharkhand the hub of eco-tourism in the country.

"We will set up 10 new medical colleges in the state. We will increase the coverage under the Ayushman Bharat Jeevan Dhara Yojana from Rs 5 lakhs to Rs 10 lakhs for elderly persons aged over 70 years. We will increase the number of beds in primary health centres and community health centres by 25,000," Shah added.

The Union minister pointed out that all the poor in Jharkhand will be provided with houses if the BJP comes to power in the state. “A total of 21-lakh houses will be constructed under PM Awas Yojna, while the elderly, widows and persons with disabilities will get Rs 2,500 as monthly pension,” he said.

The minister stated that under the Matritva Suraksha Yojna, every pregnant woman in the state will be given six nutrition kits and assistance of Rs 21,000, while free education will be provided from "KG to PG" to the girls hailing from poor and backward communities under the Phulo Jhano Padho Bitia Yojna.

"Soren is sitting in the lap of the Congress and the RJD. He is asking for Rs 1.36-lakh crores of coal dues from the Centre. I want to make it clear that the UPA government gave only Rs 84,000 crore grant-in-aid between 2004 and 2014, whereas Prime Minister Narendra Modi gave Rs 3.08-lakh crores from 2014-2024 in addition to funds for infrastructure and rail development," Mr Shah remarked.

The Union home minister further stated that the BJP government will ensure the construction of 25,000 km of highways, besides the expansion of the rail network to connect every district headquarters with the state capital Ranchi.

Shah mentioned that the BJP will provide financial assistance of Rs 2,000 to graduate and postgraduate students for up to two years and will launch the Gogo-Didi scheme to provide Rs 2,100 per month to women as part of its mission to empower them, he added.

The Union home minister said the BJP will re-launch the scheme for registration of property worth up to Rs 50 lakh in the name of women for Re 1 stamp duty, which was scrapped by the JMM-led government.