Ranchi (Jharkhand): The Hemant Soren government has completed two years in office in Jharkhand this year. ETV Bharat's Bureau Chief Rajesh Singh spoke with CM Soren about how the government has fared so far, the challenges it faced in unprecedented times of the Covid-19 pandemic, the ambitious 'Sarkar Aapke Dwar' programme, and the future plans.
Working on the grassroots with 'Sarkar Aapke Dwar'
Chief Minister Hemant Soren said that a large population of Jharkhand belongs to and follows the rural culture. The governments that ruled the state before generally operated from their offices in cities, but the Soren government has reached the grassroots and governed from the Panchayats and villages in the state. He also highlighted that all the public representatives, from the ruling party to the opposition, are in favour of the action plans of the government. The village population of the state is especially impressed with the progress that the party has brought to the state. However, there was some inconvenience in the famous Sarkar Aapke Dwar programme, wherein 30-35 lakh applications were reportedly received from all over the state, out of which 20-25 lakh applications were disposed of on the spot. There were also complaints of some irregularities in this programme. CM Soren said that his team is "striving" to rectify the mistakes of the past and to improvise the programme.
Focus on Universal Pension Scheme
Soren said that his plan to bring back the Universal Pension Scheme is an old one and dates back to 2012-13.
"The challenge for me was reaching out to the people. My experience has been that in a state where people do not have clothes to cover their bodies or food to eat or money to treat their ailments, the development needs to be started from scratch. With the Universal Pension Scheme initiative, the aim was to provide everyone with resources to fulfil their most basic needs, so that further development can be contemplated. We plan to introduce many such schemes in the coming days," he said.
The goal that his government is trying to achieve will be beneficial to many generations to come, he added. Soren said he has ensured that there is a long term and effective plan underway and that the resources have also been mobilized for the same.
"If people are to be facilitated, resources must also be mobilized," he said.
Attack on the opposition
While taking a dig at the opposition, Soren said that Jharkhand cannot be governed by sitting in Gujarat.
"To work for Jharkhand, one has to be in Jharkhand. The opposition has failed to play its role. These people simply exploit the poor and the backward and do not really intend for them to make progress. They have to prove that they are with the poor now, and that's why they visit their homes and eat with them. We never had to do anything like this because people here know that we are one of them and always with them," he said.
Opinion on namaz room and mob lynching
On being asked about his opinion on the opposition to the mob lynching law, Chief Minister Hemant Soren said that he does not smell appeasement in the mob lynching law. "The law is equal for all. What are you afraid of? If no one does anything, the law can't harm anyone. If anyone does something, he will be put in jail," he said. He said that not only Muslims, many Hindus and tribals also have also been killed in mob lynching and therefore the law is crucial. The people, he said, have started to understand the policies and intentions of the centre and they have, therefore, become more aware.
Opinion on the age limit of marriage for daughters
While commenting on the recent bill wherein it has been proposed to increase the legal age of marriage for girls from 18 to 21 years, Chief Minister Hemant Soren said that the Bharatiya Janata Party is a "master in playing the psychological games".
"The party keeps doing something from time to time so that people do not understand their conspiracy. Increasing the age of marriage of daughters is one of such moves." He asked who exactly was this law made for. "The daughters of the rich and highly educated people already get married after 21. It's the poor and illiterate people who need to get their daughters married at the earliest. Who is this law made for then?" he asked.
CM's appeal to people on Covid-19
Regarding the rising cases of the coronavirus and the Omicron variant, the CM said that the situation seems to be worsening again.
"We should not forget that there is neither any treatment nor any medicine for it. People should follow the guidelines issued by the government. That's what we want to appeal to them. Prevention is always better than cure," he said.
