Ranchi, April 29: Bihar strongman Laloo Yadav’s “tel pilawan, lathi ghumawan rally” in Patna tomorrow has taken the shine out of a parallel show of strength planned by the Adivasi Moolvasi Janadhikar Manch (AMJM) at Morahbadi Maidan with the national media flocking to Patna and “ignoring” the mass event here.
The capital’s “khatiyani rally”, focussed on the “lesser” issue of demanding justice for the original inhabitants of Jharkhand and not directed against Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, is being led by one-time RJD functionary and Laloo’s protege Bandhu Tirkey, now the working president of the manch.
Weeks before the creation of Jharkhand, the RJD chief had “rewarded” Tirkey with the chairmanship of Ranchi Regional Development Authority.
But now Tirkey does not even utter his mentor’s name in public as he has been leading an “anti-Bihar” group since the domicile controversy erupted in Jharkhand last year.
The RJD legislators in Jharkhand, however, are going out of their way to ferry supporters to Patna. All the Patna-bound trains and buses are leaving packed with Laloo supporters and passengers with confirmed reservations are facing a tough time.
Very few buses are plying to Patna from Ranchi. When reminded that Laloo had hijacked his “plan”, Tirkey said: “We had announced tomorrow’s date way back in July last year. The Patna rally was decided much later. We expect a good turnout at the rally provided transporters and bus owners co-operate with us. We are ready to pay for the diesel.”
But with the two rallies coinciding, the movement of public transport in Jharkhand has been paralysed. Most schools in the capital have been closed while the Ranchi University has deferred the examination dates.
“We are committed to agitating for the social, economic, cultural and political rights of the adivasis, moolvasis, Dalits, minorities and the backward groups in Jharkhand. We are demanding more say for the original settlers in the region in every sphere. We are demanding preference for local residents in grade III and IV jobs. We do not want to drive out the outsiders, but want them to come around to supporting our demands,” Tirkey said.
Mayurbhanj BJP parliamentarian Salkhan Murmu had initially supported the AMJM agitation but after he formed an independent political outfit, the Jharkhand Disom Party, the two drifted apart. The AMJM wants to empanel statehood movement veteran N.E. Horo as one of the speakers tomorrow.
“We will have speakers from Orissa, Assam and West Bengal tomorrow. The political course of Jharkhand will change after the rally tomorrow. We are targeting political parties because they have failed to publicly support our pro-Jharkhand demand. They are double-faced. We want to expose them,” AMJM functionary Jagdish Lohra said.Though AMJM claims to enjoy support in Jharkhand, its core areas of influence are in south Chhotanagpur like Ranchi, Singhbhum, Gumla, Lohardagga and Simdega. The outfit has been flashing the “job card” for a long time.
