Second Soren: On the Centre and Jharkhand government
The Centre must not stall Jharkhand schemes on political considerations
After leading the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) and its alliance partners to a resounding victory in the recent Assembly election, Hemant Soren has taken over as Chief Minister for another term. The fiercely contested election has made challenges more difficult for the new government. Mr. Soren has laid out a list of priorities in his second term. At the top of this list is to deliver on the promises of increasing the amount of cash assistance for women under the Jharkhand Mukhyamantri Maiya Samman Yojana to ₹2,500 a month and to generate jobs, including speeding up recruitment under the Jharkhand Public Service Commission (JPSC) and the Jharkhand Staff Selection Commission (JSSC). The promise of expediting JPSC and JSSC recruitment faces another challenge — that of harmonising it with another key poll promise, which is the implementation of a domicile policy based on 1932 records. The issue of domicile has gained new urgency with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) alleging that the tribal character of the State was being altered by the influx of foreigners. Changes in domicile law will require the approval of the Centre too, and the JMM has accused the BJP of stalling them. Mr. Soren will have to work with the Centre on this as well as on many other governance issues in the State. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has promised to support the State’s aspirations but the BJP’s political calculations may hinder Mr. Soren’s agenda.
The new government has to also work on the election promises of increasing the reservation in recruitment for SCs, STs, and OBCs, and implementing the Sarna Dharam Code. Mr. Soren has said that his previous government had passed decisions on all three issues — the change in domicile policy, the Sarna Dharam Code, and reservations — and the Centre was the one stalling it. He will also have to find a way to give shape to poll promises such as delivering LPG cylinders for ₹450, hiking the minimum support price of paddy to ₹3,200 a quintal, and increasing the amount of grain provided to households under the free ration scheme. Mr. Soren will have to deal with a more fractious society, the Opposition BJP that is waiting for an opportunity to strike, and weak allies, the Congress and the Rashtriya Janata Dal. Mr. Soren has been the target of investigations by central agencies that often work according to the political convenience of the BJP. He has a tough task ahead keeping his anti-BJP political posture at the national and the State levels intact and also finding cooperation from the Centre in governance.