A feud breaks out between Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren and BJP chief Babulal Marandi after the central government denies that it owes the state Rs 136 crore in coal royalty A war of words broke out.
Replying to a question from Purnia MP Pappu Yadav, Union Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary said there is no discrimination in allotment of funds to states and clarified that the Center does not owe any dues to Jharkhand.
Meanwhile, the Jharkhand government has reportedly initiated legal proceedings to recover Rs 136 crore in coal royalties from the Centre, news agencies reported. PTI.
Babulal Marandi refuted the Jharkhand government’s claims, calling them “baseless and misleading” and asked the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) government to provide proper documents before the public substantiate his statement.
“IIf JMM has any concrete evidence for this number, then they should release it to the public with complete documentation and facts. JMM should clarify to which item this amount belongs? Since when has this claim been pending and under what circumstances was this claim made?
He also said Hemant Soren should focus on the “real problems of Jharkhand” instead of blaming the central government.
“This charade of misleading the people of Jharkhand by making baseless accusations without any evidence should stop now. Rs 2,500 per month to women, Rs 3,200 per quintal of paddy to farmers, Rs 3,200 per quintal of paddy to young people False promises of employment opportunities have been exposed.
“Politics that misleads the public will not benefit Jharkhand. Learn to conduct pure politics with complete facts and evidence,” the BJP leader added.
Responding to the BJP leader’s claims, Soren said Jharkhand’s demand was “not baseless”.
He wrote on Twitter: “This is our right, the money we have worked so hard to earn. Your opposition to Giacandice’s right is indeed sad. When you have to use the full power of your organization to stand with us Together, you are on the side of the opposition.
The chief minister said Jharkhand will “definitely” demand its rights “because this money is the right of every Jharkhand person”.
Responding to the chief minister, Marandi said “the public has the right to know the truth about Jharkhand’s claims”.
He said the Jharkhand government should answer questions about the claim.
“Which year and which schemes/projects is this outstanding amount from? What is the basis for the amount of Rs 136 crore? How much amount was recovered during the UPA regime and when Shibu Soren was the Coal Minister?” one of his posts on X Said in the article.
“Given the history of corruption in Jharkhand, the public wants to know everything. Put the right documents and facts before them in a transparent manner and then speak,” he said.
The BJP leader added, “By raising the issue of pending dues, are you deliberately setting yourself up to blame others for failure to pay dues under the Mainiya Samman Yojana?”