Bandh, protests to mark PM visit

Ranchi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit in Jharkhand will be marked by protests and bandh by the members of the Adivasi Moolvasi Janadhikar Manch (AMJM) who will be backed by several tribal outfits who want to draw the PM's attention to a 'flawed' local resident policy. The Jharkhand Mukti Morcha(JMM) has also called for Kolhan bandh tomorrow.
The PM is scheduled to arrive at Ranchi airport on Sunday afternoon and take a chopper to Jamshedpur from where he will address 33 lakh panchayat representatives on April 24 national panchayati raj diwas.The AMJM activists in Jharkhand are celebrating it as 'black day'.
AMJM's credentials and organizational strength might be negligible, but the bandh call coinciding with the PM visit carries major political significance. "The PM is not aware of the local resident policy the state government has notified. The PM bases his policies on sabka sath sabka vikas, but the state government has ignored the interests of the tribals in its local resident policy," said Ansan Lakra, the general secretary of AMJM.
The struggle is to get maximum benefits to the tribals for which, AMJM coordinator Ajam Ahmad said, the activists are ready to face the police who would try to foil the bandh. "We want the cutoff date to be 1982. In undivided Bihar this policy was proposed," Ahmad said. He claimed it would serve the adivasis better.
The officials of state police special branch, tasked to follow the activities of outfit members, have gathered a report of the proposed activities of the outfit.
Premshahi Munda, senior leader of Adivasi Jan Parishad (AJP), a state based tribal social organization, said AJP also supports the bandh.
"The government should convene special session of the assembly to discuss the local resident policy," he said.
With elaborate arrangements cops will be deployed in Ranchi and Jamshedpur besides other parts of the state to check the protests. "Elaborate security arrangement will be in place at all the sensitive places," police spokesperson S N Pradhan said.
Ranchi SDO Aditya Kumar Anand said prohibitory orders would be imposed in the Sadar division of the state capital on Sunday to keep the protesters in check.