Jharkhand CM, Arjun Munda pay homage to martyrs of Kharsawan firing
RAJ KUMAR
Ranchi, Jan.1: Union tribal affairs minister Arjun Munda and chief minister Hemant Soren today visited Kharsawan to pay homage to tribals who sacrificed their lives in a police firing on January 1, 1948.
The firing was done by Odisha Military Police to disperse a mob of around 50,000 tribesmen assembled to protest against the merger of tribal-dominated Kharsawan with Odisha. The incident, which is compared to the Jallianwala Bagh massacre of free India, hogged the limelight and the then home minister Sardar Ballah Bhai Patel had taken cognisance of the matter and the part was not merged with Odisha.
Paying homage, union minister Munda expressed his commitment to develop the place. “When he was chief minister he had started work on developing a Shaheed Park. I have planned to develop it further. This place gives me the motivation to work in the interest of common people,” Munda said, paying homage to martyrs.
Chief minister Soren expressed a similar commitment saying that the place will be developed as a world-class tourist destination and for which his government has sanctioned Rs 16 crore. “He said a multipurpose hall with other facilities will be developed here to attract tourists,” Soren said.
Earlier chief minister Soren said: “Struggle is the identity of a tribe.”
Those accompanied Soren included state tribal welfare minister Champai Soren, health minister Banna Gupta, social welfare minister Joba Manjhi and a team of legislators including Dashrath Gagarai, Sukhram Oraon, Deepak Birua and Niral Purthy.
