Jharkhand Government Urges Election Commission To Curb Shivraj Singh Chouhan And Himanta Biswa Sarma

Jharkhand’s Hemant Soren government has accused senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders of "instigating communal tensions" using official machinery ahead of the upcoming assembly elections. 

The Soren government wants the Election Commission of India (ECI) to take action on it.

In a letter addressed to the ECI, the ruling Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM)-led government urged Union Home Minister Amit Shah to issue an advisory to BJP leaders, including Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma and Union Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, asking them to refrain from making inflammatory statements that could disturb communal harmony in the state.

The state government’s letter, penned by Cabinet Coordination Department Secretary Vandana Dadel, raised concerns about the BJP's attempts to influence local administrative and police officers through intimidation. 

The government accused the BJP of creating a "fearful and demoralizing environment" among state officials, leading to the misuse of state machinery for political gains.

These actions, the government alleged, were part of a “systematic and well-planned attack on the bureaucracy and police” in order to manipulate the election process.

The BJP has appointed Sarma and Chouhan as in-charge of Jharkhand’s assembly election preparations, and both leaders have made several visits to the state. The Soren government has labeled their public statements as provocative, accusing them of targeting the administration with false allegations in order to gain political mileage ahead of the elections. 

The letter argued that these allegations were designed to undermine state officials once the Model Code of Conduct is enforced.

The state government also responded to claims by Assam’s Chief Minister Sarma, who had accused Jharkhand of allowing illegal immigrants from Bangladesh to settle in the state. The government rebuffed these statements, stating that the accusations amounted to a "character assassination" of Jharkhand’s leadership.

While the Election Commission declined to comment on the issue, Sarma maintained that he was merely advocating for reforms in the state, and the BJP dismissed the state government’s concerns as fear of losing the upcoming elections. 

Opposition leader Amar Kumar Bauri criticised the JMM’s actions, suggesting that if there was any wrongdoing, the government should file an FIR rather than seek intervention from the ECI.