CM Hemant Soren attacks Centre over PSU stake sale, says if no reservation, no iron ore from Jharkhand

Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren attacked the Central government for taking the decision to sell the stakes of various Public Sector Units (PSU) and said this will end the benefit of reservation to the people given in the Constitution.

"Central government is planning to sell the Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL), Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) and Rails. This will take away the rights of the reservation from the people given in the Constitution. I want to warn the Centre, if the rights of the tribes are taken away, then we will not send out coal and Iron from our state. We will not let them snatch away our rights. We will not give them land also," he said while addressing Jharkhand Mukti Morcha's 48th Foundation Day in Dhanbad.

The Chief Minister also alleged that there has been a massive land scam in Dhanbad in the name of road construction.

"The government officials must now get ready to go to jail. There have also been officials who are robbing the state for years. We have to identify those officers," he added.

The Jharkhand Chief Minister also alleged that "the coal companies taking land in the state do not give proper compensation to the locals" and added " the government will have to pay compensation for their land, otherwise we will shut down the mines. They should make it mandatory to give employment to those from whom they take the land."

"The state treasury has been emptied due to the robbery by the previous Raghubar Das led government," he said in his concluding statement.