Tribal Affairs Minister Arjun Munda on Tuesday targetted the Indian National Congress’s Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra, which recently passed through his constituency in Jharkhand’s Khunti district, for giving tribal icon Birsa Munda’s birthplace in Ulihatu village a miss, saying this showed how the party viewed the nation and its people.
While replying to the discussion on Bills to amend the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes list for Jammu and Kashmir, Mr. Munda took aim at Congress leader Rahul Gandhi without specifically naming him. This came after Congress leaders, during the discussion, tried to corner the government over the widespread protests in Ladakh seeking statehood and Sixth Schedule status.
In his reply to the discussion, Mr. Munda said, “We are seeing this Yatra being done. Today, I was informed that the persons leading this effort were passing through Khunti district in Jharkhand, While they did express their political agenda, they could not even take the trouble to visit Bhagwan Birsa Munda’s birthplace in Ulihatu. This is the same village where PM Modi visited and put soil from its earth on his head as a sign of respect before launching the ₹24,000 crore PM-JANMAN package for PVTGs.”
The Congress’s Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra had stopped in Khunti district for the night on Monday, leaving for Gumla from there on Tuesday morning. Before proceeding to Gumla district, Mr. Gandhi had garlanded a statue of Birsa Munda in Khunti’s Shaheed Bhagat Singh Chowk.
Earlier, during the discussion on the Bills, the leader of the Congress party in Lok Sabha, Adhir Ranjan, said that he was going to take his time to discuss the issues being faced by Ladakh in response to BJP members highlighting how the abrogation of Articles 370 and 35a had paved the way for inclusivity in the region.
Mr. Chowdhury said, “After the abrogation of Articles 370 and 35a, the people of Ladakh thought that they would finally get justice. Today, they are demanding and rising in protest for Ladakh’s statehood and inclusion on the Sixth Schedule. Thousands are on the streets protesting. If such Bills are being brought, my question is why the government is not willing to consider the sentiments of the Ladakhi people and grant the Sixth Schedule status. The government must think about this.”
“In 2023, a high-powered committee was formed with the objective of ensuring the protection of land and employment of people of Ladakh. But they are now feeling that they are being deprived. Now that the Home Minister is also in the House, I would request the government and the ministers to please think about Ladakh,” he said.
Replying to Mr. Chowdhury’s remarks, Mr. Munda said, “I want to ask Mr. Chowdhury what his intention of raising the issue of Ladakh is. You used Article 370 to wring Ladakh out for however long you wished. Today, when Ladakh is getting justice, you seem to have a problem with it. No other party or government ever has nor will care for the people of Ladakh and their rights as much as our government under the leadership of PM Modi does.”
