Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Sunday announced that if the BJP is elected to power in Jharkhand, it will implement the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) while excluding tribal communities from its provisions.

Speaking in Ranchi during the release of the party’s manifesto ‘Sankalp Patra’ for the upcoming Assembly elections, Shah emphasised that the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) government’s claims that the UCC would threaten tribal rights and culture are unfounded.

“Our government will introduce UCC in Jharkhand but tribals will be kept out of its ambit. The JMM government is making false propaganda that UCC will impact tribal rights and culture, which is totally baseless as they will be kept out of its ambit,” the senior BJP leader said.

Additionally, Shah stated that the BJP, if successful in the elections, would address the Sarna religious code issue and establish a Displacement Commission to aid those affected by industrial and mining activities in the state.

“BJP, if voted to power in Jharkhand, will deliberate on the Sarna religious code issue, and take appropriate decisions. A Displacement Commission will be formed to ensure the rehabilitation of people displaced by industries and mines in Jharkhand,” She said.

The party aims to create 500,000 job opportunities, including 287,000 government positions, to bolster employment in Jharkhand, the Union Home Minister promised.

Shah also assured that the BJP would conduct investigations by the CBI and SIT into ongoing “paper leak” scandals and ensure that those responsible are held accountable.

Moreover, he highlighted plans to enact laws to reclaim land from illegal immigrants and to identify and deport these individuals, asserting that the rights of land, women, and food for local residents are at risk due to illegal immigration.

He accused the JMM-led government of facilitating illegal immigration, claiming it had resulted in a decline in the tribal population and significant demographic changes in the state. Shah expressed concerns over Hindu communities feeling under siege and criticised the state government for widespread corruption.

Shah arrived in Ranchi on Saturday night and was set to hold rallies in Ghatshila, Barkatha, and Simaria the following day. The state Assembly elections, which will elect members to the 81-seat assembly, are scheduled to occur in two phases on November 13 and 20, with the results to be counted on November 23.

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Saturday said that the candidates for prestigious Amethi and Rae Bareli seats in Uttar Pradesh will be announced in a few days. He was addressing a press conference where he claimed that though the BJP says the corrupt must be put in jails, when leaders facing corruption charges join the saffron party, they are put on the lap and sent to Rajya Sabha or assembly.

On being asked about the names of the candidates for Amethi and Rae Bareli Lok Sabha constituencies he said the people will have to wait for a few more days. He said when the names of candidates come from people to him and he will sign the notification, then the announcement will be made.

On being questioned about Congress leaders changing constituencies Kharge asked how many times have Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Lal Krishna Advani changed their seats. His response came when asked about the BJP criticising Rahul Gandhi for fighting the elections from Kerala’s Wayanad instead of Amethi. Referring to Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, Kharge said the Congress is not affected by people who grew up in the party and left it later.

The Congress president launched an all round attack on the BJP and PM Modi and said the prime minister did not implement even one of his electoral promises and still says Modi did a lot of work for the country. Addressing the press conference he said the BJP never fought for the independence of India, but Congress is a party of those who made India independent. He said the BJP never fought for the independence of India, for the development of India. The Congress President said the BJP speaks so much about patriotism and that the contribution of Pandit Jawahar Lal Nehru, Indira Gandhi and Lal Bahadur Shastri is nothing before them.

The Manipur government is trying their best to restore peace in the violence-hit state. The BJP led government in the state on Monday issued a no work no pay policy for over one lakh employees who have been away from their offices since the violence broke out in the Manipur on May 3.

The initiative comes from the general administration who are trying to bring back things to normal in Manipur. The administrative secretaries have been asked to furnish details of employees who could not attend their official duties due to the prevailing situation in the state with details such as name, EIN and the present address by June 28.

CM Biren Singh said that the state government and the Centre had been working together to take control of the situation in Manipur. He claimed that no casualty had been reported since June 13. After the ethnic violence escalated in the state of Manipur, the Indian army had made all possible efforts to evacuate government employees and residents from both the hill and the valley districts.

Though the authorities claim that the violence in the northeastern state has been taken under control, the employees are still feared to return to work as they do not want to risk their life and safety. Notably, transfer is not an option for the employees of the general administration. Chief Secretary Vineet Joshi has received applications from senior officials asking to relocate them in some other department which is in their native district. CM Biren Singh chaired a cabinet meeting on June 12 in which it was decided that the ‘No Work No Pay’ rule would apply to all government employees.

Many employees asserts that the ‘no work, no pay’ rule is unfair as the government could not expect the employees to get back to work immediately as the wounds of the ethnic clashes were still fresh in minds of the people.