The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has hit out at Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren for his remark that Prime Minister Narendra Modi did not listen to him during a phone call over the covid-19 situation.
Following the PM’s telephonic conversation with Soren over the covid-19 situation in Jharkhand, the state CM tweeted on Thursday night that the Prime Minister “only spoke his ‘Mann ki Baat’ and that it would have been better if he had talked about work done and listened to the other side.”
The other state chief ministers accused him of lacking the basic courtesy expected of a person holding his office and lowering its dignity.
Wishing that Jharkhand Chief Minister will retract his statement, Nagaland Chief Minister, Neiphiu Rio, tweeted: “In my experience as a Chief Minister for several terms, Honourable Prime Minister Narendra Modi has always been sensitive to the concerns of the states, particularly the northeast. I disagree with Hemant Soren and I hope he retracts his statement.”
Assam BJP leader Himanta Biswa Sarma said Soren’s tweet goes against the basic decorum and also mocks people’s suffering as Modi had called up to enquire about them.
“You have behaved in a very petty way. You have lowered the dignity of the chief minister’s chair,” Sarma said.
Hitting out at the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha leader, BJP general secretary (organisation) BL Santhosh said, “This is the level to which some politicians are stooping. PM calls & has detailed talk regarding the COVID-19 crisis & this CM tweets so. Lacks minimum grace required for the position he holds.
Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh, YS Jaganmohan Reddy also took to Twitter to condemn the tweet by Hemant Soren. He tweeted that such politics only harms the nation and while he considers Soren his brother, it is the time to put aside petty politics and come together to fight the covid-19 pandemic.
The Chief Minister of Mizoram too to Twitter to say that everyone was lucky to have a responsible and attentive Prime Minister like PM Modi.
N Biren Singh, the Chief Minister of Manipur too tweeted condemning the politics by UPA CM. He said that whenever PM Modi called, he had always been reassuring.
Former Jharkhand Chief Minister and senior BJP leader, Babulal Marandi, tweeted: “Hemant Soren is a failed Chief Minister. Failure in governance. Failure in tackling Covid-19 in the state. Failure to assist people. To hide his failures he demeans the office he holds. Wake up and work, Hemant Soren. The clock is ticking.”
PM Modi has been continuously speaking to different ministers about the COVID-19 situation in their states. Apart from Jharkhand Modi had also spoken to the chief ministers of Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, and Telangana. However, it seems like only Soren didn’t feel like appreciating it and chose petty politics over basic courtesy.
