Ranchi
Union Minister and senior BJP leader Giriraj Singh on Thursday launched a scathing attack on the Congress party for its role during the 1975 Emergency and criticised the Hemant Soren-led Jharkhand government for allegedly allowing large-scale infiltration of Bangladeshis and Rohingyas into the state.
Addressing a press conference at the BJP’s Jharkhand headquarters, Singh accused the Soren government of turning parts of the state into “Jamai Tola”—a derogatory reference to settlements allegedly occupied by illegal immigrants. He claimed this was threatening the identity and existence of Jharkhand’s indigenous tribal population.
“During the Emergency, the country fought a second war of independence. Today, Jharkhand needs a third war to free itself from this ‘Jamai Tola’ of Bangladeshi and Rohingya infiltrators,” he asserted. He urged the youth of Jharkhand to lead this “battle for liberation,” alleging that the state government was compromising national security and tribal rights in pursuit of vote-bank politics.
Turning to the Emergency era, Singh said the current generation must be made aware of that “dark chapter in Indian democracy.” He claimed over two lakh political workers were jailed, more than 25,000 government employees were dismissed, and thousands subjected to forced sterilisation during Indira Gandhi’s regime.
Singh also criticised the Congress for issuing religious appeals while historically repressing religious institutions during the Emergency, citing the alleged eviction of over 77,000 people from mosque premises. He demanded that Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge apologise for the party’s “dictatorial past” and its attempts to “mislead the nation.”