Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren on Thursday attacked the BJP, asserting that any attempt by the saffron party to frame innocent tribals in court cases would be thwarted.
He was referring to cases filed against a number of tribal youths in Jharkhand for participating in a nationwide bandh in 2018 called to protest against alleged dilution of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.
The BJP was in power in the state in 2018 and the present JMM-led government decided to withdraw the cases against the accused at a cabinet meeting on November 3.
"The Jharkhand government has withdrawn cases filed against the youths in 2018. The erstwhile government conspired against them and filed the cases for participating in the Bharat Bandh against the amendments in the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act,” Soren said.
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The Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) executive president claimed that by implicating the youths in cases, attempts were made to harm their future, but he would not allow any such move to succeed.
“We will remove all obstacles from the path of the tribals and other communities for their all-round development," Soren said while addressing the youths who gathered at his residential office to thank him for the move.
He said efforts are on to recruit youths in various government and non-government jobs.
"Some gangs are actively working against the interest of the tribals and original inhabitants of the state. Any attempt by them to harm the interests of the youth, tribals and local people would not be tolerated and thwarted," he said.
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He also assured the youths to provide them a level playing field in education and other spheres on a par with developed states.
Dalit groups had called for a Bharat Bandh on April 2, 2018, to protest against a Supreme Court order which, they claimed, had diluted some stringent provisions of the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989.
Protesters had turned violent at several places, which resulted in the death of at least 11 people and the destruction of property across the country.
-With PTI input
