Dumka, Nov 16: In a scathing attack on Chief Minister Hemant Soren, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, on Saturday, accused him (Hemant Soren) of shielding Bangladeshi infiltrators in Jharkhand.

Speaking at an election rally in Dumka in support of BJP candidates, the Home Minister stated that the Jharkhand High Court has ordered the identification and removal of illegal immigrants from the voters list. He challenged Soren, saying, "If there is even a little bit of Ram in his heart, he should pledge to follow the High Court order."

The Home Minister further alleged that Hemant Soren took the matter to the Supreme Court, suggesting that his government sees Bangladeshi infiltrators as a vote bank.

"He asks us questions, but has he ever visited the Bangladesh border? There are forests and rivers there, which makes fencing difficult, and infiltrators easily sneak through these routes," Amit Shah said.

The Home Minister questioned the state’s administration, asking, "When infiltrators enter, how is it that local officials like Patwaris and police officers don’t know? Who helps them obtain ration cards and voter IDs? How do they end up marrying daughters of Jharkhand? This is all with the support of the Jharkhand government."

Amit Shah also accused the Soren government of siphoning off funds sent by the Centre for the state's development. "Those who loot the funds meant for Jharkhand's youth, Dalits, and backward communities believe that nothing will happen to them. Let them be happy till November 23, because once the BJP government comes to power, every rupee will be recovered and deposited back into the state treasury. The looters will end up in jail," the Home Minister thundered.

Citing specific instances, Amit Shah claimed, “Rs 350 crore was found in the house of a Congress MP. Twenty-seven machines were brought in to count the cash. Rs 30 crore was recovered from the PA of Alamgir Alam, a Minister in Soren's government. Yet, neither Hemant Soren nor Congress said a word about it.”

Responding to Hemant Soren's criticism of the Centre's contributions to the state, the Home Minister said that from 2004 to 2014, the UPA government provided only Rs 84,000 crore to Jharkhand. In contrast, “Modi ji's government has allocated Rs 3.9 lakh crore since 2014,” Shah said.

He listed the Centre’s achievements, including aid to 30 lakh farmers under the Kisan Samman Nidhi, support to 4.68 lakh ‘Lakhpati Didis’, construction of 2 lakh toilets, distribution of 5 kg of free rice to 2.65 crore families, and the establishment of AIIMS, an IIIT, and an airport in Deoghar.

Amit Shah urged voters to elect a BJP government, promising, “If BJP comes to power, PM Modi will transfer Rs 2,100 to each beneficiary account, and gas cylinders will be available for Rs 500.”

He criticized Soren for failing to deliver on his promise of unemployment allowances, assuring that a BJP government would fill 2.85 lakh government job vacancies in the state.

Addressing concerns about the Uniform Civil Code (UCC), the Home Minister assured tribals that they would be kept outside its ambit.

--IANS

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