Bhopal, (Samajweekly) Ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit on Monday, Bhopal’s Jamburi Maidan has been adorned with cut-outs and posters of tribal heroes along with cultural activities as the state is celebrating the birth anniversary of tribal freedom fighter Birsa Munda as ‘Janjatiya Gaurav Divas’.
Modi will arrive at Jamburi Maidan from Raja Bhoj airport.
The Prime Minister will be addressing the gathering of tribals, who have arrived from different parts of the state and will announce more than a dozen tribal specific schemes. Several Union and State cabinet Ministers such as Arjun Munda, Jyotiraditya Scindia, Narendra Singh Tomar, Dharmendra Pradhan, Virendra Khatik, L. Murugan, Faggan Singh Kulaste, Bisahulal Singh, Vijay Shah, among others, will share the stage with the Prime Minister and Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan.
To make the event a success, tribals have been brought from different districts of Madhya Pradesh in special buses. District administrations along with regional Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders were tasked to bring the maximum number of tribals to Bhopal for the ‘Janjatiya Gaurav Divas’ celebration.
The mega event has been organised by the Shivraj Singh Chouhan-led Madhya Pradesh government with an eye on the Assembly polls due in 2023. In the last Assembly elections, the BJP could won just 15 seats against 32 in 2013. There are 47 Assembly seats reserved for Scheduled Tribes (STs) out of the total 230.
The Congress had won 36 tribal dominated seats in the 2018 Assembly elections.
“Whichever party wins the maximum number of tribal dominated seats forms the government. In the last Assembly elections, Congress won 36 seats and had formed the government,” said Food and Civil Supplies Minister Bisahulal Singh, who is a prominent tribal leader in Madhya Pradesh.
However, the Kamal Nath-led Congress government could not last for more than 18 months and the BJP managed to win the majority and form the government again.
“Tribals did not get what they deserve. Congress always used them as a votebank but did nothing for their development. Now, the BJP has decided to give them their rights. I thank Prime Minister Modi for coming to Bhopal to attend this Janjatiya Gaurav Divas,” said Chouhan.
