Munda assures honour for people involved in separate Jharkhand movement

Vijay Deo Jha

Ranchi

Chief Minister Arjun Munda, on Wednesday, assured a delegation representing people involved in separate Jharkhand movement that the government will soon workout on a policy to identify all those who were left out of government’s pension scheme for such activists.

Submitting a 21-points memorandum the delegation led by veteran tribal leader Suraj Singh Besara, JMM leader Suraj Mandal, Vinod Kumar Bhagat not only found faults in the policy of the government to cover only such people who remained in jail for at least six months in connection with cases related with separate Jharkhand movement but also termed the pension amounts too meager.

During Winter Session of the assembly CM Munda had announced for a grant of Rs five thousand and three thousands for those who remained in jail for one year and six months, respectively, in connection with separate Jharkhand movement cases.

“The government is bound to honour all those who fought for the statehood of Jharkhand. The government has already announced to start pension scheme for such people and the matter has been sent for the approval of finance. But we should be careful not to allow anybody to take benefit of the scheme those who never participated in the movement. The matter will be brought before the cabinet for deliberation,” Munda told the media after the meeting.

The delegation contended that if the amount of penal punishment in form of jail is taken as the sole criterion than a lot of people will remained in jail for less period than notified and those who participated in the movement through other means will not get benefit.

During the meeting Munda said that the government has already announced to start pension schemes for those who have already been identified by the government. “CM has assured us that the process to identify rest will be started very soon. Problem is that none of the political parties our splintered groups have list of their party cadres who took part in the agitation. We have demanded the government to provide medical facilities for such pensioners at par with freedom fighters of the country,” Mandal said.

The delegation floated proposal to form a commission comprising leaders of separate Jharkhand movement and government officials to identify such people and submit report by end of March 2012.

“The government made the list of probable pensioners based on the records of 1998 prepared on basis of information provided by different district administrations,” a senior CMO official told the pioneer. But the government has been caught in a peculiar situation to fix a cut-off date for the start of separate Jharkhand movement.  Seeking compensation of Rs 10 lakh and job for the family of those who died while fighting for the cause of separate state; the delegation demanded the government to withdraw cases against them.

In 2008 the then government of Madhu Koda had announced to lift cases but not more than 100 cases were taken on the priority basis. It was not a new announcement since the list was prepared and submitted by the Home Department during previous stint of Munda as CM of Jharkhand.