Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday said the biggest hurdle in the development of Jharkhand is the Congress-JMM-RJD coalition government of the State and Jharkhand will progress only when its present government goes out of office.

Addressing a BJP rally in Hazaribagh in Jharkhand, he said while the BJP’s government at the Centre is working hard for the development of the State, its JMM-led government is trying to derail the development programmes.

He said the current government has encouraged “infiltration” of outsiders in the State, particularly in the Santhal Pargana region, and this is threatening the tribal identity of the State. The JMM and the Congress are playing with the security of the country.

The Jharkhand people have to fight to save “Roti, Beti, Maati identity of the State,” the Prime Minister said. In a few months, he said, when Assembly elections take place, Jharkhand will have a BJP government and “I give guarantee that when BJP-NDA comes to power, Roti, Beti and Maati will be protected.”

Mr Modi said Jharkhand will develop only when there is change in the State. That is why people are taking out “parivartan yatras.” These are not political yatras, they are to assert the determination to make Jharkhand developed and people are supporting them, he said.

The Prime Minister said the beginning of the change had started today itself. At a function earlier, he had launched development projects worth more than Rs 80,000 crores for the State.

These included Dharti Aaba Janjatiya Gram Utkarsh Abhiyan, 40 Eklavya Model Residential Schools (EMRS), mobile medical units, electricity, water and solar energy schemes, which will transform lives of the tribal population and help them progress.

The BJP shared the tribals’ dream of a separate State of Jharkhand, he said, and the dream was fulfilled under Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee. The BJP had to fight the RJD for this. The RJD treated Jharkhand as a place for exploitation and was looting its resources of “Jal-Jungle-Jameen.” The region was a safe house for criminals and mafias, he said.

The RJD was getting protection for its deeds from the Congress at the Centre, Mr Modi said. The Congress was thus equally responsible for RJD’s sins. Today, the JMM has acquired the colour of the Congress and the RJD; it is not the same old JMM. The Congress has imposed its eco-system on the JMM.

None could expect the JMM to loot the State, he said. Today, land mafia rules the State government; there is free loot of adivasis’ land, the encroachers did not spare even the Army’s land. Coal, sand, minerals are being looted by the ruling system, he said.

The State has launched welfare schemes but even their money is being siphoned off, the Prime Minister said. Under the protection of the State government, paper leak gangs are operating. A paper is leaked for lakhs of Rupees; rights of the youth are being taken, money is reaching the higher-ups.

Mr Modi said the whole government is sunk in corruption. Can such a government in the State think of anything beneficial to the youth or anybody else, the Prime Minister said.

The JMM is siphoning off money allocated to the poor under Central schemes. Even funds under the Jal Jeevan Mission are being appropriated. The money was recovered from houses of Congress leaders and their servants, in crores of Rupees, he said.

“I have been in public life for long, I have never seen such mountains of money, which I saw on the TV,” the Prime Minister said.

Mr Modi said “Now they (the JMM) are on the verge of departure, they have increased the speed and scale of corruption, thousands of transfers have taken place in the last two weeks. Transfer-posting is a big industry in Jharkhand. Soon the government will change in Jharkhand and the loot will have to be accounted for, every Rupee.” The JMM government will have to answer for its promises.

The Prime Minister said this country did not recognize the contribution of tribal leaders in the freedom struggle. Such injustice was not done to any other community. The Congress only focused on one family, and ignored the role of people living across the country.

Mr Modi said “All schemes were named after the children of one family, all roads, institutions were named after sons and daughters of one family. This narrow parivarvadi attitude harmed the nation’s interests in a big way. I am proud that the BJP government is able to honour the tribal leaders.”

In Ranchi, a museum for Birsa Munda has been built. On his birthday, Janjatiya Gaurav Diwas has been started. Next year, the 150th Jayanti of Birsa Munda will be celebrated, he said.