Manipur Violence: War of Words between JMM and BJP Over Hemant Soren’s Letter

CM Soren’s letter to the President concerning Manipur violence sparks a trading of charges between JMM and BJP leaders.

RANCHI – A political controversy has been ignited between the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders over Chief Minister Hemant Soren’s letter to the President about violence in Manipur.

Raghubar Das and Babulal Marandi, BJP leaders, reacted strongly to Soren’s letter, challenging the Jharkhand Chief Minister to demonstrate the same empathy for violence against women in Jharkhand.

Raghubar Das, former Chief Minister of Jharkhand, urged Hemant Soren to refrain from politicizing the Manipur issue and instead focus on addressing crimes against women in Jharkhand.

Das’s remarks were posted on Twitter shortly after Soren announced his letter seeking President Draupadi Murmu’s intervention in the Manipur situation.

Marandi, another former Chief Minister who is now the state president and BJP legislature party chief, backed Das.

He challenged Soren via Twitter to comment on women’s atrocities in Jharkhand.

Marandi tweeted a stern response, urging the Chief Minister to address several other contentious issues.

He criticized Soren for not reacting to incidents of violence against women in Bengal and other places, and for not acting on the rising crime rates in Jharkhand.

This political slugfest is likely to get more acerbic with time as both sides continue to engage in trading of charges in the run up to 2024 Parliamentary and Assembly elections.