Congress Is a Party Without Issues, Opposition to MMDR Amendment Baseless: Aditya Sahu
Ranchi: BJP Jharkhand Pradesh President Aditya Sahu has strongly criticized the Congress over its opposition to the MMDR Amendment Act, calling it baseless and misleading. He accused the Congress of trying to divert public attention from the real issues and described it as a “party without issues.” Sahu was addressing a press conference at the BJP state office in Ranchi.
Aditya Sahu said that democracy functions on the basis of public accountability and social responsibility, but alleged that the Congress has completely disregarded these principles. He accused the party of repeatedly misleading people by misrepresenting laws and policies and creating confusion among the public.
Sahu claimed that there is no significant opposition to the MMDR Amendment Act across the country and alleged that even Congress-ruled states have not opposed it in the same manner. He said that in Jharkhand, however, the Congress is using the issue to mislead people. He also alleged that students involved in protests are being intimidated and that false cases are being registered against them.
Targeting the Congress, Sahu alleged that the party has treated Jharkhand like an “ATM” and has used the state for political and financial interests. He claimed that the opposition to the amendment was driven by concerns over alleged illegal income from coal. He said that Congress leaders were organizing programmes in different districts to mislead people, but the public was now aware of the party’s past record.
Sahu also raised concerns over the cess being imposed on minerals in Jharkhand. He said that when entrepreneurs in the state can obtain coal and iron ore at cheaper rates from neighbouring states, they would naturally prefer those supplies. He claimed that a cess of ₹600 per tonne is being collected on iron ore and ₹450 per tonne on coal in Jharkhand, while the cess in neighbouring states is considerably lower.
Referring to Bharat Coking Coal Limited (BCCL), Sahu said that he had recently met the Union Coal Minister and discussed the condition of the company. He alleged that large-scale coal theft was taking place and claimed that there was alleged involvement of sections of the local administration. He further claimed that the company’s financial condition had deteriorated significantly and that without financial support from the Centre, salary payments to employees could also face difficulties.
Sahu said that the deployment of CISF personnel at BCCL had helped strengthen efforts to curb theft. He urged the Union Home Minister to consider similar deployment in mineral-rich districts such as Chatra, Latehar, Dumka and Godda to protect the state’s mineral resources.
He also accused the Congress of having a long history of diverting public movements and political issues. Referring to the separate Jharkhand statehood movement, Sahu alleged that the Congress had attempted to influence the movement for political purposes.
Sahu said that every BJP worker would take to the streets to counter what he described as the Congress’s attempts to mislead the public. He asserted that the people of Jharkhand would give a strong response to such politics.
State Media In-charge Yogendra Pratap Singh, State Spokesperson Sandeep Verma and Shobha Yadav were also present at the press conference.
