New Delhi, Aug 12 (IANS) Targeting the Congress over the ongoing student agitation in Jharkhand, Minister of State (MoS) for Defence Sanjay Seth on Wednesday took a jibe at the Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition (LoP) Rahul Gandhi’s ‘Chhatron Ki Goonj’ programme, saying that the latter is unable to hear ‘Jharkhand Ki Goonj’.
Speaking to reporters outside the Parliament House, MoS Seth said: “Rahul Gandhi has still not visited Jharkhand, even after students sustaining injuries due to cane charge. He is the biggest factory of lies in the country. He picks and chooses; he is unable to hear the ‘Jharkhand Ki Goonj’.”
“He (Rahul Gandhi) does not have the strength to go to Jharkhand because the Congress is an ally in the current state (Jharkhand) regime, so he does not have the courage to go there,” the BJP leader added.
The MoS alleged: “Last night at 1 a.m., the Deputy Commissioner of Ranchi (Manjunath Bhajantri) and the Senior SP of Ranchi (Rakesh Ranjan) went to threaten the students, told them to get up, and the electricity was cut off right then at night. Just this morning, when the students had arranged a generator with their own money to restore electricity, the police removed that too.”
He accused the Jharkhand government of displaying “dictatorial attitude” and alleged that “a scam of around Rs 400 crore has taken place”.
“Who all benefitted from it (scam)? That’s what the students are asking. Why is a CBI probe not being sought? It is because people related to the Jharkhand Chief Minister (Hemant Soren) and the Congress are involved in it. They know that senior leaders of the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha and Congress may go to jail if a CBI probe takes place, the state government may land in trouble,” he alleged.
Moreover, MoS Seth asserted that the students of Jharkhand are determined and will continue their agitation even if electricity is cut.
“They cannot be threatened by anyone,” he said.
Meanwhile, BJP MP Nishikant Dubey questioned what makes the Jharkhand students’ agitation a separate issue for the Congress?
“If someone from a wealthy region and a wealthy party leader like (Congress President) Mallikarjun Kharge doesn’t see the backwardness, poverty, or corruption of Jharkhand, he should be ashamed. Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi should be ashamed of the way Ranchi’s DC, SP, DGP, and Chief Secretary are behaving with the protesting children— I have never seen such tyranny,” he told reporters at the Parliament complex.
Questioning why CBI probe is not being allowed into the alleged exam irregularities as demanded by the agitating JPSC-JSSC aspirants, the BJP MP said: “They (Jharkhand government) know that if a thorough investigation is conducted, it would reveal the involvement of everyone – from (Chief Minister) Hemant Soren to the Chief Secretary.”
Further targeting the Congress, Dubey said: “The party (Congress) should take back its support from JMM in Jharkhand and stand with the students otherwise it will appear as if they work on the agenda of George Soros, and Rahul Gandhi and Congress are present wherever anti-national forces and communal tension exist in the country.”
–IANS
cg/khz
