Jharkhand 'local policy' to be changed, 1932 to be cut-off year: Shibu Soren

JMM president Shibu Soren said on Wednesday that the previous Raghubar Das-led government's 'Sthaniya Niti' of making 1985 as the cut-off year for being eligible to be a resident of Jharkhand was "not proper", and that the policy will be changed.

"There will be a change in the 'Sthaniya Niti' (domicile policy) in Jharkhand. The 1932 Khatiyan (proof of land document of a person) should be made the cut-off year to frame Sthaniya Niti," Soren told reporters here.

'Sthaniya Niti', previously known as domicile policy, has been a contentious issue for the state since its creation and successive governments could not define it.

The previous BJP government defined the 'Sthaniya Niti', under which it made 1985 as the cut-off year and laid out other criteria for being a resident of the state and become eligible for government jobs.

"The previous government's cut-off date of the year 1985 was not proper, which deprives people of Jharkhand of their rights. The first right belongs to those having the 'Khatiyan' and inhabitants who lived for a long time in Jharkhand," Soren, the father of Chief Minister Hemant Soren, said.