Shah kicks off Jharkhand poll campaign, promises development

Home Minister Amit Shah kicked off his party's campaign for the Jharkhand assembly polls. While addressing the rally in Latehar, he said, "I want to ask Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi, what did you do for tribals in last 70 years, do you have any facts on it? We have opened an Eklavya school in every Adivasi block, a district mineral fund has also been set up by Modi Ji."

Manika (Jharkhand):BJP president Amit Shah kicked off his party's campaign for the Jharkhand assembly polls on Thursday with the promise of catapulting the state to the top position in terms of development.

He lauded the Raghubar Das government for "freeing" the state of the Naxal menace in the last five years.

"Atal Ji (Atal Bihari Vajpayee) created Jharkhand and Narendra Modi will embellish and spruce it up," he told an election rally in Manika.

"People kept dying, youth sacrificed their lives, but the dream of statehood remained unfulfilled under Congress rule," he said.

Shah thanked the Jharkhand unit of the party for giving him the opportunity to launch the poll campaign from Latehar district, the land of legendary freedom fighter Birsa Munda.

In the rally, Amit Shah hits out at Congress and Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) stating that scams of Rs 1,000 crore took place during their rule in Jharkhand.

"In the last 5 years, Chief Minister Raghubar Das has put Jharkhand on the path of development. What have Congress and Jharkhand Mukti Morcha done for the benefit of the poor? Rs 1,000 crore scams took place during their government," Shah said while addressing a rally here in Latehar.

Emphasising on the history of Jharkhand, he said: "When the whole country was fighting against the British in the revolution of 1857, the biggest battle was fought by the people of Palamu."

"People of Jharkhand fought the battle for statehood. In Congres rule, Jharkhand was not created. Jharkhand came when Atal Bihari Vajpayee became Prime Minister of this country. He gave the Jharkhand people their right," the BJP president said.

He said that Jharkhand is witnessing development under BJP rule and he is delighted to see that what he has promised five years ago is being accomplished.

"Narendra Modi worries for the development of Jharkhand. Due to him, the development has taken place in the state today," he said.

Stressing on the efforts taken by his government, he said: "Our government provided gas cylinders to 35 lakh people, houses to more than 5 lakh people and ensured that toilets and drinking water reach to every house in Jharkhand."

"We constructed a memorial to honour Birsa Munda and sanctioned the degree college in 2018. The income of female peasant was increased under the Jharkhand State Tribal Promotion Society. A 554 km route made at Manika Vidhan Sabha at a cost of Rs 300 crore," he said.

Jharkhand will go to polls in five phases. The first phase of polling will be held on November 30, the second phase on December 6, the third phase on December 12, the fourth phase on December 16 and the last phase on December 20.

Results will be declared on December 23.

The Congress has forged an alliance with the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) and the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) in the state to defeat the incumbent BJP.

In 2014, the BJP, which won 43 seats, formed the government along with All Jharkhand Students' Union (AJSU), which had won 5 seats under the leadership of Raghubar Das.