Jharkhand deputy chief minister Hemant Soren at the meet in Patna on Friday. Picture by Nagendra Kumar Singh

Patna, Jan. 21: On the occasion of a state-level meet of Bihar Pradesh Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (BPJMM), Jharkhand deputy chief minister Hemant Soren today said his state would not follow Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar’s footstep of abolishing legislators’ funds as it was not necessary in his state.

When The Telegraph put the question to Soren regarding abolishing MLA local area development (LAD) fund, he said: “The Jharkhand government will not make any such law and we are not going to follow Bihar government’s footsteps by abolishing fund of our legislators as it is not necessary in our state. Everything is perfect in our state and I don’t think that there is any need for it. Every state has its own issues and different perspectives but it does not mean that it applies to all.”

He added: “Yes, I do support Nitish Kumar for taking action against corruption. It is very important for any state and it is the biggest obstacle in development but here again Jharkhand will not follow Bihar style of confiscating the property of corrupt officials. We will tackle the issue of corruption in our own way according to laws made by our government. We firmly believe corruption is a hindrance to state development and we will not tolerate it at any cost. Our government is taking adequate action against corrupt officials.”

The occasion was attended by Jharkhand minister of health and family welfare Hemlal Murmu, Jamtara MLA Bishnu Prasad Bhaiya and the only MLA of JMM in Bihar government Sumit Kumar Singh from Chakai Assembly seat.

Hemant Soren was presented with a silver crown and also garlanded with 101kg garland made of marigold flowers by JMM leader Pranav Kumar. The meeting was organised to strengthen the party in Bihar.

Asked about winning just one seat in the recently concluded Assembly elections in Bihar, Hemant said: “This is just the beginning and we have laid our foundation in the state, it takes some time for any work to reach the top and I am sure that JMM will do well in future. Very soon we will come up with a strategy to make the party stronger in Bihar. We just need the support from the people of Bihar.”

Speaking about the forthcoming panchayat elections in Bihar, Hemant said: “Panchayat election is very significant for the development of villages and it can only be achieved through free and fair elections, which I am sure will take place in the state. As the panchayat election is not happening on a party basis, we will make sure JMM takes the lead.”