RANCHI: Jharkhand chief minister Hemant Soren on Friday launched a fresh campaign to identify those who were part of the statehood movement and vowed to provide their due rights and respect.
Former CM and Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) patriarch Shibu Soren, who was a key figure in the movement was also present on the occasion and released a logo of ‘Andolankari Chinhitikaran Aayog’ and a revised application form.
Jharkhand was carved out of Bihar in 2000 during the tenure of Prime Minister Atal Vihar Vajpayee.
Speaking on the occasion, chief minister Soren said that the application form for such activists has now been simplified so that such activists can easily submit their claims before the commission.
He announced that the government considers statehood activists not only to those who went to jail during the movement, but also to those who made arrows and mobilized people by playing tribal instruments like ‘dugdugi’.
Dependents of the Jharkhand movement activists will get 5 per cent horizontal reservation in government jobs, the chief minister announced as he declared himself as the son of a statehood activist first.
He said those who played any role in any capacity that aided the Jharkhand movement will be identified as statehood activists and given due benefits.
“The statehood movement was no less than the freedom movement of the country,” he told the audience at a program here.
Soren said only 2000 statehood activists were identified by the government in the initial years of the statehood. “When I looked at this figure, I thought the number of activists couldn’t be so less given that the struggle for a separate state lasted for a long time,” he said.
Reiterating his government’s commitment to ensure a life of respect and dignity to indigenous people of the state, CM Soren called upon people who have migrated out of the state to come back.
“The government will provide full rights tribals and ensure them all facilities and their rights on water, forest, and land,” he stated.