Home Minister Amit Shah announced on Sunday that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) would implement the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) in Jharkhand if elected to power, ensuring that tribal communities would be exempted from its application. Shah made the announcement in Ranchi while releasing the BJP’s Sankalp Patra, the party’s manifesto for the upcoming Jharkhand assembly elections.
“Our government will introduce UCC in Jharkhand, but tribals will be kept out of its ambit,” Shah assured, accusing the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) government of spreading “false propaganda” about the UCC’s impact on tribal rights and culture. Shah noted that these claims were “totally baseless.”
Key promises in the BJP’s manifesto include the establishment of a Displacement Commission to ensure the rehabilitation of people displaced by industrial and mining projects in the state. Shah also addressed the Sarna religious code issue, pledging that the BJP, if voted to power, would take “appropriate decisions” on the matter.
Shah outlined additional priorities, promising to generate 5 lakh jobs in the state, with 2.87 lakh of these being government positions. The BJP also vowed to initiate CBI and SIT investigations into recent “paper leaks” in Jharkhand, pledging accountability for those responsible.
The Home Minister also discussed plans to bring in a law aimed at reclaiming land from “infiltrators” and identifying and deporting illegal immigrants, which he said posed a threat to Jharkhand’s “Mati, Beti, Roti” (land, daughters, and livelihood). Shah accused the JMM-led government of supporting these infiltrators and warned of changing demographics in the state, adding that the BJP would act to secure the rights of indigenous communities.
Shah further alleged that “Hindus are under attack” in Jharkhand and that appeasement policies were at their peak under the current administration, which he described as the “most corrupt state in the country.”
Shah, who arrived in Ranchi on Saturday, is set to address rallies in Ghatshila, Barkatha, and Simaria as part of the BJP’s campaign. The 81-seat Jharkhand assembly election will be conducted in two phases on November 13 and 20, with the counting of votes scheduled for November 23.
(With inputs from agencies)
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