On Sunday, Union Home Minister Amit Shah released the BJP’s manifesto for the upcoming Jharkhand Assembly polls, in which the party promised a slew of measures including action against “Bangladeshi infiltrators”, a law to return the tribal lands “grabbed by intruders”, a law to tackle paper leaks and the enforcement of the Panchayat Extension to Scheduled Areas (PESA) Act, among others.

Rejecting the BJP’s infiltration allegations, Jharkhand Chief Minister and JMM leader Hemant Soren called the saffron party’s poll manifesto a “jumla”. The JMM dismissed the BJP’s “Sankalp Patra (manifesto)” as a “jhoot, loot and thag patra (lies, loot and fraud document)”.

The BJP alleges that “Bangladeshi infiltrators”, especially in the tribal-dominated Santhal Pargana – comprising the districts of Sahibganj, Godda, Pakur, Deoghar, Dumka and Jamtara – are marrying tribal women, buying lands and usurping jobs meant for locals.

In its manifesto, the BJP has promised laws to counter the effects of “infiltration”. “In a bid to protect roti, beti and maati (food, daughters and land), we will bring laws against love jihad and land jihad in the backdrop of marriages leading to conversions and land grabbing,” says the party manifesto.

The Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), in its September 12 affidavit, told the Jharkhand High Court, which is hearing a plea on the issue, that the “infiltration of Bangladesh nationals” had happened in the Santhal Pargana since Independence, but did not mention its current status.

The MHA also claimed that the instances of Muslims “misusing” loopholes in the existing law to acquire tribal lands though “danpatras” existed but links to Bangladeshi immigrants in these cases had not been established so far.

The Ministry apparently referred to Section 20 of the Santhal Pargana Tenancy (Supplementary Provisions) Act, 1949 which prohibits the transfer of land in the division by any other means – sale, mortgage, will, lease or gift – except inheritance.

This Act also does not set a time frame for restoring the possession of the land to its original owners, effectively negating the concept of “danpatras”. In contrast, in other areas, mere possession of land for a period of time may be an important factor in deciding its rightful ownership. Legal experts say the effective implementation of the existing Act will ensure that there is no misuse.

During the manifesto release, Shah had slammed Jharkhand CM Hemant Soren for demanding Rs 1.36 lakh crore as coal royalty dues from the BJP-led NDA government while claiming that the Centre had given the state an amount of Rs 3.08 lakh crore through devolution and grants-in-aid, which was much higher, he added, than what was given to the state by the previous Congress-led UPA government between 2004 and 2014.

The Finance Commission determines the devolution of funds, which the Centre and states generate through various taxes, and also lays down the principles that govern grants-in-aid. “Thus, tax devolution and grants-in-aid are two Constitutional instruments in the hands of the Commission for transfer of funds from Union to states,” the 15th Finance Commission report for 2021-2026 stated.

However, a top Jharkhand government official pointed out that tax devolution or grants increase as the government’s earnings rise. “Jharkhand was not favoured by the Centre. However, both are separate issues,” the officer said, requesting anonymity.

State Finance Minister Rameshwar Oraon had earlier told The Indian Express that dues of coal companies are payable to the state as land compensation. “Coal companies have not paid Rs 1.01 lakh crore to the state for the land they acquired while royalty worth Rs 29,000 crore is due for washed coal, which does not have impurities. However, the royalty was based on raw coal,” he had said.

While the BJP has promised to explore possibilities of restarting mining operations in closed mines, including the mica mines in Koderma to “establish a network of export-oriented units for international markets”, Soren during his “Khatiyani Johar Yatra” claimed 400 mines were closed before 1980 due to the Forest Conservation Act and to “protect” forest areas. The CM also said his government was in talks with the Centre to legalise picking of mica flakes from abandoned mines.

Sources, however, claimed around 60,000 people were dependent on illegal picking of mica flakes. “The government tried to set up a cooperative through which selling of mica sheets could be legalised. However, the Centre disagreed while claiming the flakes contained lithium particles and hence it had jurisdiction over it,” sources added.

While there has been no attempt to frame PESA rules in the state even during the BJP’s tenure between 2014 and 2019, the party has promised its implementation in Scheduled Areas if voted to power this time.

The first attempt to formulate these rules was done under Soren in 2022 and were published the following year for public consultations but are yet to see the light of day.

The PESA Act is instrumental for self-governance in tribal areas where the gram sabhas and panchayats falling under Schedule V of the Constitution have the power to take decisions to ensure customary laws, social and religious practices of the areas are protected. Thirteen out of the 24 districts in Jharkhand fall under Schedule V.

The PESA Act, if enforced, will also give the local bodies a say on the management of minor minerals and forest produce.

The BJP’s manifesto promises to construct 21 lakh houses under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana to ensure a house for every poor person in the state.

However, sources in the state government told The Indian Express that it had twice complained to the Centre that around 8 lakh eligible beneficiaries had been left out of the ambit of the scheme. “The first complaint was lodged by Soren in 2022 while then rural development minister Alamgir Alam raised the issue with the Centre the following year. For reasons unknown, the complaints were not addressed and thus Jharkhand came up with its own housing scheme – Abua Awas,” the source said.

The BJP has promised investigation into paper leaks by the CBI and the SIT. However, in August last year, state BJP chief Babulal Marandi had termed the Jharkhand Competitive Examination (Measure for Control and Prevention of Unfair Means in Recruitment) Bill, 2023 – passed by the Jharkhand Assembly – as a “black law for the state” claiming its provisions were more stringent than other laws.

“There is a strict provision (in this Bill) to enter and search the building…this is a black law brought to send students to jail, to suppress the voice of the public and to sell jobs,” Marandi had then said as BJP legislators approached the Governor against the Bill.