Parties trade charges on special status to Jharkhand

BJP and Congress today blamed each another for Jharkhand not being accorded special status, while CPI (ML-Liberation) charged political parties with failing to put the state's interest above their since its creation 13 years ago.
"BJP has been raising it (special status issue) since 2004. A delegation of (erstwhile) Arjun Munda Cabinet had met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in 2004 and placed all the points as to why Jharkhand should be put in the category of special status," BJP MLA Raghuvar Das told reporters here.
"Former Chief Minister Arjun Munda had also raised it in the National Development Council meeting. But it is the UPA government which ignored it," Das, former Deputy Chief Minister claimed.

Congress, meanwhile, alleged that it was BJP which ruled the state for maximum years and "used to surrender" funds.
"It was BJP which was in government for maximum period. Babulal Marandi was its first Chief Minister and then Arjun Munda. Together they signed over 100 MoUs, but how many are visible on the ground now," PCC General Secretary Alok Dubey said.
"Jharkhand is a 5th Schedule State and several districts are in the Integrated Action Plan, but their governments could not improve the status of the state and surrendered Rs 12,000 crore in 2012," Dubey claimed.
Blaming different political parties in Jharkhand for failing to get special status for the state, CPI (ML-Liberation) MLA Vinod Kumar Singh said, "Ever since Jharkhand was created on November 15, 2000, political parties indulged in formulas and combinations to form and dislodge governments. But none of them took up the special status issue with the Centre effectively.