Shivraj Singh Makes NRC Promise Amid 'Bangladeshi Infiltrators' Row In Poll-Bound Jharkhand

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Monday promised to implement the National Register of Citizens (NRC) in Jharkhand if the party comes to power in the state.

Union minister and Jharkhand BJP assembly election in-charge Shivraj Singh Chouhan said the party is determined to protect the land from the illegal immigrants who have infiltrated the state.

“BJP is going to release its election manifesto. This election is not only about making someone a CM or of power, but it is about saving Jharkhand. We are determined to protect ‘Roti, Mati aur Beti’. Due to the infiltrators from Bangladesh, the demography of the region is changing rapidly,” Chouhan said.

“Earlier, the tribal population in the Santhal region was more than 44%. Now, it has been reduced to 28%…The population is badly affected by these infiltrators…The Hemant Soren government is favouring the infiltrators for vote bank politics…We will implement the NRC in Jharkhand…”

The NRC is a record of all legal citizens of India, which allows the Centre to identify and deport illegal immigrants. It was first implemented in Assam in 2013–2014.

BJP’s Charge Against Jharkhand Govt

The BJP has time and again raised the issue of changing demographics in Jharkhand and accused the Chief Minister Hemant Soren-led state government of letting ‘Bangladeshi infiltrators’ enter Santhal Pargana to encroach on land.

The party flagged that ‘Bangladeshi infiltrators’ are allegedly marrying tribal women, buying land, and usurping jobs meant for locals in the state.

The matter also reached the Jharkhand High Court on September 12 when the Ministry of Home Affairs filed an affidavit to claim the ‘Centre is concerned and alert regarding the illegal migration in parts of Jharkhand.’

Last month, the court observed that the state government remained silent on the reason for the reduction of the tribal population in the Santhal Pargana region.

The remarks were made in the court’s order passed while hearing a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) plea highlighting alleged illegal immigration from Bangladesh in the region, leading to demographic change in the state.

Soren has dismissed BJP’s allegations of demographic changes in Jharkhand, suggesting that critics should look into the demographic data of neighbouring West Bengal. “They talk about spoiling the demography and Bangladeshi intruders. I would like to tell them to go and get the data from the Centre and see in which district and in which state it has changed,” he said earlier.

Jharkhand Elections Draw Closer

The members of the Election Commission of India (ECI), led by Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar, visited Ranchi last month regarding poll preparedness in the state that is set to hold elections later this year.

A delegation of the state BJP had a meeting with the team and urged them to make arrangements to ensure that alleged infiltrators are not able to vote.

The elections are scheduled to be held in November or December this year to elect all 81 members of the Jharkhand Legislative Assembly. The poll panel is yet to make a formal announcement for the dates.