Salient points of press conference of BJP National Spokesperson Shri Tuhin Sinha

 

Salient Points of Press Conference of Bharatiya Janata Party National Spokesperson Shri Tuhin Sinha

 

The CAG report has revealed that the Soren government has no account of ₹19,125.88 crore, and the government has not submitted 5,209 utility certificates

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On one hand, funds were released without issuing utility certificates, while on the other hand, funds were not released even after issuing utility certificates

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The CAG report revealed that eight departments of the Soren government withdrew ₹26.22 crore from the contingency fund in a year, out of which ₹13 crore was spent in March 2024 alone

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The Hemant Soren government lacks revenue accountability while its expenditures remain unchecked, leading to widespread treasury misappropriation

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In Jharkhand, the Health Minister's post has always been held by Congress. In 2021-22, Congress MLA Banna Gupta was the Health Minister, and the current Health Minister is Congress leader Irfan Ansari

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Congress specifically kept the Health Ministry under its control to commit scams and turned Jharkhand into its ATM, just like other Congress-ruled states

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On January 31, 2025, the Jharkhand government issued a ‘Tughlaqi Farman’ for the Health Department, drastically reducing the number of hospitals providing Ayushman Bharat coverage—a clear conspiracy to deprive the public of its benefits

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This is not an outright rejection like Kejriwal or Mamata Banerjee, but a calculated move to systematically weaken the scheme.

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Out of the ₹4,500 crore budget allocated for drinking water schemes in Jharkhand, only ₹438 crore has been spent so far. When just 10% of the total funds have been utilized, the crucial question remains—where has the rest of the money gone?
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The Soren government is indulging in blatant vote bank appeasement, to the extent that Vikas Shah was brutally beaten by Jharkhand Police for playing Holi in a Muslim area on the day of Holi. A similar incident had also come to light on Mahashivratri

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The only difference is in the names—one time it's Vikas Shah, another time it's some other Hindu—but every year, during festivals, attacks on Hindus keep increasing

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Terrorist modules are becoming active in Santhal Pargana, but the Soren government is turning a blind eye to these cases while trying to gain praise based on just one arrest

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The Soren government is trying to turn Jharkhand, once known as the land of freedom fighters Sidho-Kanho, into Aurangzeb's territory

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The Soren government is giving a free hand to illegal infiltration in Jharkhand's Pakur, Sahebganj, and Dumka, settling Bangladeshi infiltrators, and promoting terrorist activities in these areas

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Bharatiya Janata Party National Spokesperson Shri Tuhin Sinha addressed a press conference at the party’s central office, on Wednesday. In his address, Shri Sinha raised concerns over expenditure irregularities and mismanagement in Jharkhand’s Hemant Soren government. He alleged that under state protection, Bangladeshi infiltrators are being settled and accused Chief Minister Hemant Soren of attempting to transform Birsa Munda's sacred land into Aurangzeb's territory. However, BJP remains determined to prevent this.

 

Shri Sinha highlighted that the Hemant Soren government recently completed 100 days of its second term. Initially, there was an expectation that it would abandon past malpractices and prioritize the state's welfare by promoting a corruption-free administration. However, this assumption proved incorrect. The extent of scams occurring in the state is described as unimaginable, yet due to its geographical distance from Delhi, many such incidents fail to gain national media attention. This lack of scrutiny has allowed the Soren government to operate without accountability while exploiting the state.

 

BJP National Spokesperson Shri Sinha referred to a CAG report presented on February 27 in the Jharkhand Assembly, highlighting the performance of the state's health departments. The findings were alarming, revealing that ₹19,125.88 crore remained unaccounted for, with 5,209 utilization certificates yet to be submitted despite the funds being released. This pointed to a massive scam. Additionally, while 42,158 utilization certificates were submitted, ₹1,14,035 crore had not yet been released. This indicated a dual issue—funds being disbursed without proper accountability and genuine claims remaining unpaid. Furthermore, over the past year, eight departments withdrew ₹26.22 crore from short contingency funds, designated for emergencies, with ₹13 crore withdrawn in March 2024 alone. These instances demonstrated how the Hemant Soren government was systematically looting the state treasury.

 

Shri Sinha highlighted a major blunder in budgetary provisions, questioning the scale of such errors. A sum of ₹4,536 crore, instead of being recorded under the revenue section, was categorized under the capital component and subsequently spent, leading to unaccounted revenue while expenditures remained unchecked. Additionally, severe shortcomings in the state's healthcare system during and after the COVID-19 period were evident. The situation in Jharkhand had deteriorated even further than the crisis faced by the Kejriwal-led administration in Delhi. As of March 2022, 61% of medical officers and specialist positions remained vacant, while 20-25% of nursing positions were unfilled. The CAG report further revealed that 45% of teaching staff positions were vacant, and community health centres faced a severe shortage of essential medicines, ranging from 65% to 95%. Disturbing visuals from rural and tribal areas showed residents carrying deceased family members over distances of 50 to 60 kilometres due to a lack of proper healthcare infrastructure. These alarming irregularities and large-scale scams in the health department underscored the ongoing mismanagement in the state.

 

National Spokesperson Shri Sinha raised a critical question regarding the position of Jharkhand's Health Minister, pointing out that the Congress has consistently retained control over the ministry. Previously, Banna Gupta, a Congress MLA from Jamshedpur West, held the position and was responsible for the irregularities reported in the 2021-23 period. The consequences of these failures led to his electoral defeat. Currently, the health ministry is headed by Irfan Ansari. A larger question arises—does Congress deliberately keep control of Jharkhand’s health ministry to treat the state as its financial stronghold? This concern extends to Rahul Gandhi, given Congress’s pattern of exploiting governance whenever an opportunity arises. The Jharkhand government, where Congress is a coalition partner in the Hemant Soren-led administration, is yet another example of this strategy.

 

Shri Sinha described the dire state of Jharkhand’s healthcare system and highlighted that on January 31, 2025, the Jharkhand government issued a Tughlaqi Farman (highly arbitrary and irrational order) related to the health sector. Under this directive, the coverage provided under Ayushman Bharat has been drastically reduced, impacting hospitals included in the scheme. This new rule is set to take effect from April 1. According to the directive, private hospitals in rural areas of Jharkhand must have a minimum of 30 beds to qualify for Ayushman Bharat coverage. However, finding a hospital with such capacity in rural Jharkhand is nearly impossible. In urban areas, the requirement is even stricter, mandating a minimum of 50 beds for hospitals to be included in the scheme. As a result, apart from major cities like Jamshedpur, Ranchi, Dhanbad, Bokaro, and Hazaribagh, only around 18 to 20 hospitals in the entire state meet the 50-bed requirement. This decision severely restricts healthcare access under Ayushman Bharat, particularly for those in rural and smaller urban areas.

 

BJP National Spokesperson Shri Sinha stated that this is, in effect, an attempt to indirectly deny the people of Jharkhand the benefits of Ayushman Bharat. He pointed out the deliberate conspiracy behind it, emphasizing that unlike Kejriwal, who outright rejected the scheme, or Mamata Banerjee, who openly declared her refusal to implement it, the Jharkhand government is taking a more concealed approach. By introducing restrictive provisions, they are making access to the scheme increasingly difficult, pushing its implementation toward near impossibility. Ayushman Bharat was first launched in Jharkhand, where many doctors in rural areas had joined the scheme by setting up small hospitals with a capacity of two to three beds in their homes. He stated that the decision by the Soren government would result in a significant overnight loss for them, calling it a reflection of the alleged cruelty of the Hemant Soren-led Jharkhand government.

 

Shri Sinha stated that drinking water schemes in Jharkhand are in a dire state, with chaos prevailing across the sector. According to a report released two days ago, a budget of ₹4,500 crore was allocated for drinking water schemes across the state this year. However, only ₹438 crore—just 10% of the total—has been utilized so far. Major projects, such as the Ring Road pipeline of Getalsud Dam in Ranchi, have seen only 15% progress, highlighting the severe mismanagement in implementation. Only 20% of the work has been completed in the first and second phases of the drinking water scheme in Dhanbad’s Baghmara area. Meanwhile, several areas in Jamshedpur continue to face a severe water crisis, with no concrete action taken in the last eight years. When ₹4,500 crore was allocated for drinking water schemes but only 10% of the funds have been utilized, the question arises—where is the rest of the money going?

 

BJP National Spokesperson Shri Sinha stated that there is massive corruption in health and drinking water schemes, and the extent of this corruption is so vast that even 24 hours would not be enough to recount it. Beyond corruption, the policies of the Hemant Soren government are a glaring example of extreme appeasement. On the day of Holi, a man named Vikas Shah was brutally beaten by the police in the Gorthamba area of Giridih, leaving him severely injured. His only fault was that he and his family wanted to celebrate Holi in a Muslim-dominated area. Following the incident, Shri Babulal Marandi and Shri Raghubar Das met the victim’s family and were deeply shocked by their suffering. Such incidents have now become commonplace in Jharkhand.

 

Shri Sinha stated that a similar incident had occurred in Hazaribagh on Mahashivratri, just 15 days before the attack in Giridih during Holi. The only difference is in the names—sometimes the victim is Vikas Shah, sometimes another Hindu—but such incidents continue to rise every year, especially during festivals. It appears that, much like West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, Hemant Soren also wants to send the message that Hindus should stay away from Muslim-majority areas. Hemant Soren should take a lesson from Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Shri Yogi Adityanath, where, despite having 75 districts and a population of 24 crore, such situations are not allowed to arise. In contrast, Jharkhand, with just 24 districts and a population of 3.5 crore, continues to witness a complete failure of law and order under the Soren government.

 

BJP National Spokesperson Shri Sinha, addressing the issue of demographic change in Jharkhand, stated that the Soren government has given a free hand to illegal infiltration in the Pakur, Sahebganj, and Dumka regions. He alleged that illegal immigrants from Bangladesh are being allowed to settle in these areas, leading to a rise in terrorist activities. Recently, a dreaded terrorist associated with Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB), Abdul Mamul, was arrested. He had arrived in Pakur from Murshidabad on January 6 and was reportedly providing terrorist training to 15 individuals in the area. This is an extremely serious issue, as multiple terrorist modules are being activated in the Santhal Pargana region, while the state government continues to turn a blind eye. The Hemant Soren government attempted to gain praise by making a single arrest, but numerous other such incidents are continuously coming to light. Concerns over population imbalance in Jharkhand have been raised for a long time, yet the government has failed to address them.

 

Shri Sinha stated that on October 30, the Ranchi High Court had issued clear instructions for the formation of a panel to assess the real causes of demographic distortion, comprising representatives from both the Central and State Governments. However, due to the non-cooperation of the state government, this panel has not been formed, and no concrete steps have been taken to address this serious issue. Earlier, in July, the Jharkhand High Court had also expressed concern over the situation, specifically mentioning five key areas—Santhal Pargana, Deoghar, Dumka, Pakur, and Sahebganj. These regions, once known as the land of freedom fighters Sidhu and Kanhu, are now being systematically transformed. The pressing question remains—does Hemant Soren intend to convert the sacred land of Birsa Munda into the land of Aurangzeb?

 

National Spokesperson Shri Sinha stated that the party had fought with full force against this issue during the assembly elections and will continue its battle, as saving Jharkhand is the need of the hour. Shri Sinha questioned whether the Congress party has turned Jharkhand into its personal ATM, just as it does in every state before beginning its process of loot. The post of Health Minister in Jharkhand has always been held by the Congress, making it directly responsible for the massive corruption in the health sector. The BJP demands that the current Health Minister, Irfan Ansari, initiate a CBI inquiry into the entire health scam. Hemant Soren must ensure a thorough investigation by the CBI, with former Health Minister Banna Gupta being specifically held accountable. The second pressing question is whether Hemant Soren, through his appeasement and misguided policies, intends to turn the sacred land of Birsa Munda into the land of Aurangzeb. The Bharatiya Janata Party will not allow this to happen under any circumstances.

 

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