A recent interview of Jharkhand chief minister Hemant Soren with Hindustan Times’ Kumkum Chadha saying that Bhojpuri or Magahi are the languages of Bihar, terming Bhojpuri and Magahi speaking people as dominating persons and alleging Bhojpuri and Magahi language of being used to call bad name while playing with sanctity of women during Jharkhand agitation created a controversy in Jharkhand.
Lagatar24.com is presenting the entire interview in a simplified form to let the people know the context in which it was said.
Q) How far are you influenced by your father?
A) Hundred percent. My father is a vegetarian and I am also vegetarian.
Q) What is your greatest learning from your father?
A) Listening to the poor. I see myself as poor when I talk to them.
Q) You say you see yourself as poor but you are not poor from any angle. You have hundred properties worth thousands and thousands and matters regarding this are also pending before Lok Pal. What do you have to say about that?
A) All this is Chakravyuh. Lok Pal has not given me any such information. Earlier such matters were in courts. All the court’s reply was given. Reply will be given to Lok Pal also.
Q) Your father had been a child of struggle. You did not have any property. How did you amass such a big property?
A) It is wrong to say we did not have property. We have properties but there were no cash properties. We are tribal and we have land. In customary law the value of our property is limited to paper. As far as my property is concerned, I have only one property in my name.
Q) Not only you, I am talking about the property of the entire Soren family.
A) We are not less than 150 members in the Soren family. In this situation having 100 properties is not a big issue.
Q). How do you feel fitting in your father’s shoes?
A). I like it. I am happy to be a man like him behind me. I have also hung his picture behind me. Very limited people in the country have the concept of social engineering which my father has.
Q). Your father was convicted and awarded life imprisonment. What do you have to say on this?
A) The case was false.
Q) You continued your father’s legacy in politics and crime. There is criminal case against you also? What would you like to say about this?
A). Let it be proved in the court of law. All these are strategic moves. People know that the CM does not come under the ambit of LokPal, they want to reach me through my father’s case. I am not afraid of it.
Q) What was your father’s mistake you won’t repeat?
A) This is a tough question. I will not be able to reply to the same.
Q) Unlike first chief minister Babulal Marandi and Arjun Munda, you and your father are college dropouts with criminal backgrounds. Does it not set a bad example?
A) Those struggles always have a burden of criminal cases, what to talk about those who did not struggle. My father stopped going to school when he chose the path of struggle after brutal murder of my grandfather by Mahajan. Things are gradually changing. Now I go to the college as chief guest where I dropped out. Teachers of the college admire me for this. We belong to such a group where people first think about food then education. Birsa Munda and Sido Kanhu, who fought with Britishers when no one had thought about it, were also illiterate. Everyone knows how educated people contribute to the struggle.
Q) What is the matter of admiration when you have the power of legacy?
A) I disagree. I had got only 17 MLAs in legacy and I took it to 30.
Q). You have spoken about encouraging Advisai language but left out Bhojpuri and Magahi and your coalition partner Congress is quite upset about it? What would you like to say about this?
A) Bhojpuri and Magahi are not regional languages. These are borrowed languages. These are not spoken in villages. Those who speak Bhojpuri and Magahi are dominating persons while villagers used to be simple. These are languages of Bihar. Why to do Biharisation of Jharkhand. During times of agitation these languages were used to call bad names for agitators. While playing with the sanctity of women during agitation the language was used for abusive words. Agitators are still alive and remember those days.
Q) However, Congress is upset. What do you have to say about that?
A) We will discuss the issue and try to convince them. We have never ignored them. The languages had acceptance in specific districts and we have planned to make it district specific. We cannot lion and goat at one place for the safety of the goat. People are eyeing the state for its mineral wealth and sometimes it becomes difficult to prevent entry of someone for the safety of weaker sections.
Q) You don’t want people to depend solely on minerals. How far is it?
A) That is true. Over the past 100 years all planning revolved round mines and minerals but I want something different from it. Thus I want to develop something which is suitable for tribes.
Q).Is the Union government giving step motherly treatment. You are tweeting against PM.
Stronger tweet can also go in future if required. We are men of struggle and do not believe in crying. BJP people are also happy with our governance though they do protest and say against us publicly.
BJP is happy as it is a divided house. So you are not surviving due to your strength but due to the divisive BJP.
It is wrong to say that. They have a forum to keep all united. Thus many attempts were made to topple my government and some of them are in jail for doing so.
Among those toppling the government is one vegetable vendor also?
A) Vegetable vendors stay in five star hotels. When a tea seller can become prime minister, why can’t vegetable vendors topple the government?
It is alleged that you planted the vegetable vendor to defame BJP.
We are not so weak. We will see how we will silence them.
Q).There is a law that when a non-tribal marries a tribal she gets all the facilities of tribal including ST status. It is said that it is being misused. Is it true?
A) Yes and the matter is being discussed.
Q) Are you thinking of changing it?
A) Will be able to tell you next time.
Q) You have two types of pressure, one from your coalition partner and other from the BJP at the centre pulling you from all directions. Once you have also tweeted that PM Mann Ki Baat is a monologue. What do you have to say about this?
A) No political pressure. The PM organises video conferencing and covers everything with political angles. Where it required I commented.
Q) Jharkhand is second from last in vaccination. Why only 40 lakh vaccinated in Jharkhand against the total population of over 3 crore?
A) Jharkhand is a less educated state where people still believe they depend on quack. Now I will have to plan strict policy>
You are under criticism for no development. Have you failed as CM?
No. A month after the government was formed the state went into lock down due to a corona pandemic. For the last two to three months things are being normalised. Recently we upgraded our industrial policy and paved path of Rs 10000 crore investment.
On one hand you are inviting people for mining in the state while on the other hand you are fighting with the centre on the issue and have also gone to court on the issue.
A) The State was being used as a commodity. No software park, IT park, IT industries were allowed to grow here strategically. We had asked the union government selling the national property to wait till the end of the corona pandemic to get good buyers for better revenue.
Q) But at the same time you are inviting investors
A) Yes, we have to do some activities.
Q) You remained deputy chief minister, chief minister, MP and chief minister. Which remained your toughest tenure?
A) Toughest period is right now because during the last 20 yrs things got derailed. No visionary job was done. Several parts of the development train were pulled out and thrown. We have assembled part of the train. How can a vehicle run without wheels?
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‘If a chaiwala can become PM…’: Hemant Soren on a ‘sabziwala’ plotting to topple Jharkhand govt
