J P Nadda opens BJP office in 8 dists, flays Hemant Soren govt

Ranchi: BJP national president J P Nadda on Tuesday inaugurated new party offices in eight districts of Jharkhand online from Delhi and criticised the state govt on all fronts, prompting the ruling JMM-Congress-RJD alliance to criticise the saffron party for “lavish spending” when people are facing financial crunch and job losses during the pandemic.

Nadda inaugurated the swanky offices equipped with latest technologies for conferences, meetings and allied activities in Simdega, Palamu, Lohardaga, Seraikela-Kharsawan, West Singbhum, Ramgarh, Giridih and Dhanbad districts.

Union tribal affairs minister and Khunti MP Arjun Munda and Hazaribag MP Jayant Sinha were also present at the party’s central office in Delhi for the ceremony. Key leaders in the state attended the events at the points of inauguration.

Attacking the mahagathbandhan government in Jharkhand, Nadda said, “When I read about Jharkhand now, reports of naxalism, daylight kidnapping and murder, and robbery are rife. Jharkhand has become a byword for lawlessness. The menace of naxalism, which was almost over, has become rampant. Corruption has become an industry with rates fixed for transfers.” Good governance has ended in the state because the government is weak and careless, he said.

Addressing state BJP functionaries at the digital event , he asked them to work democratically to remove the coalition government “ lock, stock and barrel”. While the coronavirus pandemic brought to stop activities of all parties, BJP carried on with its relief measures and stayed in touch with its members through digital technology, he said.

Nadda said BJP workers in Jharkhand provided meals to 12.74 lakh people during the coronavirus-induced lockdown, distributed 27 lakh ration kits, 31.13 lakh face covers and eight lakh sanitisers. He also spoke about the Modi government's relief measures and programmes for making India self-reliant, and asked party members to publicise them among the masses.

Later in the day, criticizing BJP for engaging in such extravaganza, JMM general secretary Supriyo Bhattacharjee said the new offices are symbols of the corrupt activities of the erstwhile Raghubar Das government. He said, “Amid the pandemic, BJP is resorting to an office-launching spree exposing its little concern for the people. While the state and its people are battling financial woes, BJP is using its illegal wealth amassed during Das’s reign to build offices rather than spending on public services.”

Congress, too, denounced the inauguration spree. In a statement, party spokespersons Alok Dubey and Lal Kishorenath Shahdeo said, “Because of the faulty policies and mishandling of the pandemic by the NDA government at the Centre, thousands of people are on the brink of survival, but BJP continues to mock the people of this state and the nation by such gigs.”

Dubey demanded that the Hemant Soren government initiates a probe into the funds and clearances of the eight new offices. “BJP must declare the source of its money for such swanky offices. We appeal to the state government to initiate a probe,” he added.