Having been at loggerheads with the Modi government over several issues such as GST dues, Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren has accused the Centre of acting "unilaterally" on several important matters and said states must be consulted to uphold the spirit of cooperative federalism.
Mr Soren, who was on a Delhi visit earlier this week, had separately met three union ministers -- Home Minister Amit Shah, Coal and Mines Minister Pralhad Joshi and Minister for Road Transport & Highways Nitin Gadkari. The meetings were seen by many as an effort to mend ties with the Centre after a series of face-offs on several issues.
The Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) executive president also asserted that opposition parties, including the Congress, Left and strong regional forces, need to take a concerted approach to fight the BJP both at the Centre and in states where they are in power.
In an interview with PTI, Mr Soren also dismissed the BJP's charge that law and order had deteriorated under his rule and alleged that the opposition in his state was attempting to "malign the image of the state".
"There is no law and order problem in my state. The thing is that we keep all the facts in the public domain and the opposition uses it for their political advantage and have been attempting to malign the image of the state," he said.
"Unlike Uttar Pradesh and other states, we never hide any incident. They hide incidents; we don't hide and take immediate action. I have instructed the highest level police officials to take immediate measures and quick resolution of cases," Mr Soren said.
Asked about his run-ins with the Centre over issues such as Goods and Services Tax (GST) dues and coal block auction, Soren said in the past year, issues such as healthcare during COVID-19, financial matters, GST dues, coal block auction, suspending the functioning of three medical colleges have been periodically flagged to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other Union ministers.
"But the central government has been constantly ignoring our recommendations and unilaterally acting on issues without considering our inputs," he alleged.
"The Centre must consult states on key issues that impact them to uphold the spirit of cooperative federalism," he said.
Mr Soren has been critical of the Centre over the issue of GST compensation and accused it of not giving its dues.
Asked if the Congress had failed to unite the Opposition to take on the BJP, he said it would not be right to say that the Congress has failed and disappointments are part of the electoral battle game.
On whether going forward it was important that regional parties be the fulcrum of the Opposition alliance, Soren said regional parties are playing a crucial role in winning seats as they understand the ground realities in a better way.
"But, it is not just important to win seats; we also need a strong alliance that is on the same page. And the bigger challenge is to coordinate between all opposition parties and form a strong alliance against the BJP," Mr Soren said.
"In the past few years, we have seen regional parties gaining more strength and importance in Indian politics. Every state has different requirements, which the regional parties understand better," the Jharkhand Chief Minister said.
On the roll-out of the vaccination programme in the country, Soren said the inoculation drive is being successfully implemented in Jharkhand.
"A total of 99.89 lakh people have been identified for the vaccination in the state. In the first phase, 1.5 lakh healthcare workers and 2 lakh frontline workers are getting vaccinated. Senior citizens and people suffering from critical ailments will be given vaccines in the next phase," he said.
Highlighting the preparations of the state for the massive vaccination drive, he said at least 275 vaccine stores have been set up across the state and district-level steering committees have been constituted under the chairmanship of the respective district deputy commissioner to oversee the implementation of the programme.
Mr Soren, who last month completed one year in office, said his government's focus is to revamp the state's education, nutrition, women empowerment, developing skills and employment, tribal welfare, industry, sports and tourism.
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