Hemant Soren’s Masterstroke: Jharkhand Assembly Passes Domicile Policy, OBC Quota Bills Amidst ED Rows

How to respond to the intimidation of central probing agencies? While the states run by non-BJP parties are yet to figure out the answer- Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren has perhaps found it- it is populism. Pandering to the popular demands have been time-tested strategy for the politicians but the ‘timing’ is all that makes the difference.

Jharkhand government today in a special assembly session passed two of the most awaited bills that will forever change the political fate of Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM), the ruling party. The first one is the demarcation of local inhabitants of Jharkhand through the land survey of 1932 and the second one is about pushing the bar of reservation for the OBCs from 14% to 27%.

Also Read| Jharkhand's New Domicile Policy: Another 'Outsider' In The Wall 

Hemant Soren government held special assembly session at a time when consecutive summons by ED for his alleged involvement in an illegal mining case have made the political environment of the state tensed. Recently ED has asked Soren to appear in its office on November 17.

ED earlier summoned him on November 3. However, the Chief Minister didn’t pay heed and following his own schedule left for Raipur to attend an Adivasi programme. One of the officials very close to Soren told Outlook that the CM was fully occupied up to November 15 and if ED thinks it fit to call him after that “we may think”. The public relation division of the government in an unprecedented move published the schedules of CM’s engagement from November 3-15 making the intent of the government further clear.

Meanwhile Soren asked ED to directly ‘arrest’ him if they have enough evidence pertaining to his offence. The leader of the JMM who is revered by Adivasis not only as the CM but also as son of the undisputed leader ‘Guru ji’- Shibu Soren, at this juncture, played the populist card. He called for a special one day assembly session on November 11 to pass the most desired bills that would presumably shoot his already soaring popularity to the sky.

In a series of decision taken on September 14, Soren cabinet approved the demands of domicile policy on the basis of 1932 land survey and promised that the bill will soon turn out to be a law. In the case of reservation while the bars for SCs and STs have been pushed from 10 to 12 and 26 to 28 respectively, the same for OBCs is 14 to 27. If it gets assent of the Governor, Jharkhand will become the first state in the country to have 77% reservations.

While the oppositions have been crying foul citing the violation of 50% cap, the recent verdict of the Supreme Court that upheld the constitutionality of 10% reservation for the Economically Weaker Section (EWS) among the upper castes of the society has significantly diluted it.

Also Read| At The Crossroads Of Discontent: Revisiting Jharkhand's Journey Toward Domicile Policy

However, the confusion over the domicile policy is yet to be over. It is unlikely to survive the judicial scrutiny as the experience from Babulal Marandi regime shows. The first CM of independent Jharkhand Marandi also tried to push the 1932 domicile policy but couldn’t pass the judicial review. However, Soren this time is all set to put the ball in the centre’s court. The cabinet note said that the government after passing the bill will ask the centre to place it under the ninth schedule to avoid the judicial scrutiny.

It is really difficult to gauge what the centre will do. Outlook from its sources have learnt that though BJP is fomenting fear among the people that the domicile policy will snatch lands from the non-Adivasis and all those who would fail to produce relevant documents, even in close quarters they are very careful in treading the path.

Notably, the masterstroke of Soren to pass these decisions in the cabinet also came at a crucial time when the ED raids across Jharkhand was at its peak and there was subsequent buzz over the instability of the JMM government. Soren has several times alleged that the BJP has been trying to poach his MLAs to topple the government.

The allegations have been repeated recently as well amidst the ED summon and the floating news that the Governor Ramesh Bias may ask the CM to resign for violating the Representation of People’s Act, 1951. Reportedly Election Commission had sent its recommendation to the Governor to disqualify Soren for his alleged allotment of a coal mine to his name, wrongly using the office for profit.

Despite several requests from the CM, the Governor has however not revealed the recommendation. Rather, in a recent interview the Governor said that he has further asked EC for the second opinion. Neither it is the convention, nor there is any precedence of Governor seeking the second advise of the EC in such matters when the offence is so grave.

However, all of these factors have been played down today as the assembly session cleared the most desired bills in Jharkhand. It is difficult to say how it will determine the future of the state politics but for now it will definitely give Soren an edge over his oppositions.

One of the WhatsApp message that has gone viral in Jharkhand defines the mood – “Kal Chhakka Marna Hai, BJP Ko Puri Tarah Dho Dena Hai.”(Tomorrow we will hit sixer and sweep BJP forever).