Centre ignoring poor, tribals and Dalits: Jharkhand CM

Hemant Soren was speaking to reporters at the Swami Vivekananda Airport in Chhattisgarh's capital city, where he arrived to attend the inaugural day ceremony of the five-day-long 'National Tribal Dance Festival' and 'Rajyotsava' 2021 (statehood celebration) as chief guest

Raipur:Jharakhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren on Thursday slammed the Centre over the issues like inflation and unemployment and claimed that the welfare of poor, tribals and Dalits was missing from the Union government's thought process.

Soren also said that the Naxal menace in various states had come down due to efforts made by governments there.

He was speaking to reporters at the Swami Vivekananda Airport in the Chhattisgarh's capital city, where he arrived to attend the inaugural day ceremony of the five-day-long 'National Tribal Dance Festival' and 'Rajyotsava' 2021 (statehood celebration) as chief guest.

Asked about the Union government's functioning, Soren said, "The Centre's decisions not only affect politicians, but also you (common citizens). Be it inflation, employment or the country's economy, what is the status now? I think the middle class people, poor, tribals, Dalits, backwards and minorities have no place in their (central government's) thoughts."

On the Naxal menace, Soren said Naxalism is not only the problem of Jharkhand, but of the country.

"If you look at the statistics, it shows a steady decline (in Naxal incidents) in Jharkhand. Naxalism has been brought under control (in Naxal-hit states) due to the efforts of various state governments. We will do even better work in future in this regard," he said.

Noting that Jharkhand shares a border with Chhattisgarh, Soren said both the states are working together to deal with the problem of Naxalism.

Commenting on the opposition BJP in Chhattisgarh, which is ruled by the Congress, he said the opposition should play a meaningful role.

There should not be an attempt to create obstruction in the working of the government or to conspire against it, he said.

"If there is a positive opposition, then development takes place at a faster pace," he added.

PTI