The Loktantra Bachao Abhiyan (Save Democracy Campaign), operating under the banner "Abua Jharkhand, Abua Raj" (Our Jharkhand, Our Rule), held a press conference at the Press Club, Ranchi, to release its people's manifesto for the upcoming assembly elections. The campaign urged political parties that believe in communal harmony and constitutional values to incorporate their demands into their respective manifestos. They also called for a strong grassroots alliance and a joint minimum program. Following the press conference, a delegation from the campaign met with leaders from the JMM and Congress to submit their manifesto.
During the press conference, the campaign provided an assessment of the previous five years of the Hemant Soren coalition government. They acknowledged several positive initiatives, including a significant increase in social security pension coverage, the Mayian Samman Yojana, assistance to migrant workers during and after the COVID lockdown, agricultural loan waivers, the withdrawal of cases related to the Pathalgadi and CNT-SPT movements, and the halting of the Netarhat Field Firing Range project extension. The government also passed the 1932 land records-based domicile policy, recommended 27% reservation for backward classes, and the Sarna religious code in the assembly, meeting some of the state's expectations.
However, many promises made by the coalition parties remain unfulfilled after five years. Examples cited include the non-cancellation of the land bank and land acquisition law amendments, the non-cancellation of the Koel-Karo project, the absence of PESA rules, the lack of a mob lynching law, and the non-reopening of merged schools. Action on numerous forest rights claims is pending, and ground-level corruption in government schemes like MNREGA has not been curbed. Additionally, several government announcements, such as providing eggs in Anganwadi and midday meals, remained on paper. The campaign also noted the continuous attempts by the Modi government and BJP to destabilize the state government and the central government's withholding of several policies.
Analyzing this situation, the Loktantra Bachao Abhiyan released its people's manifesto for the 2024 assembly elections. The campaign believes that action should be taken within the first six months of forming the government on the issues for which the state was created: water, forest, land, existence, tribal autonomy, identity, and freedom from exploitation. Their key demands include the cancellation of the Land Acquisition (Jharkhand) Amendment Act 2017 and the Land Bank policy, the cancellation of all projects established without Gram Sabha consent and in violation of land laws, the formation of a Displacement and Rehabilitation Commission, and the provision of land to the landless, Dalits, and poor farmers. They also demanded that the state government immediately impose a state tax on mining as per the Supreme Court's decision and allocate at least half of it to the Gram Sabha, the formulation of PESA rules, and the implementation of the Sixth Schedule in tribal-dominated areas like Kolhan and Damini Koh. They called for the distribution of all pending individual and community forest leases within three months of the government's formation and the immediate release of undertrial prisoners, the majority of whom are tribal, Dalit, backward, and Muslim (numbering around 15,000 according to a year-old government figure), with a high-level judicial inquiry to close false cases against tribal people, indigenous communities, and the marginalized.
The campaign expressed its disappointment that appointments continued to be made according to the anti-Jharkhand local policy of the previous Raghuvar Das government. They demanded that the next government implement a domicile policy based on land records (with special provisions for the landless) within three months, and enact laws to ensure the majority participation of local people in leadership and decision-making positions in all levels of private and government jobs. They also called for prioritizing local people, especially tribals, in police stations and decisive positions in local administration within Fifth Schedule areas, and simplifying the process of issuing caste/residential certificates for the millions of landless Dalits and displaced people deprived of education, employment, and other rights due to the lack of these certificates, along with organizing camps for their distribution.
The campaign stressed that the next government's priority should be to stop the divisive politics of Bangladeshi infiltration, Sarna-Christian, and Hindu-Muslim being played by various communal organizations and parties, which is destroying the social fabric of Jharkhand. They suggested that the first step towards establishing equality and communal harmony could be a ban on the construction of places of worship of any particular religion in police stations, police camps, and government offices, and ensuring the removal of religious flags and symbols displayed in public places and government offices during religious programs within 48 hours after the program ends.
Improving the state's weak public education and health systems should be a major priority for the next government, according to the campaign. This includes filling vacant posts from primary schools to colleges and ensuring regular quality education, as well as filling all vacancies from sub-health centers to district hospitals and ensuring the availability of medicines and testing facilities, with the government not limiting itself to contract-based building construction.
To address widespread migration and unemployment in the state, the campaign demanded the enactment of an urban employment guarantee law and an increase in the MNREGA daily wage to ₹800. They also called for advancing the social security initiatives started by the current government by increasing the social pension amount to ₹3000 and providing a maternity benefit of ₹20,000 to all pregnant and lactating women without conditions, following the model of Tamil Nadu. Furthermore, to combat widespread malnutrition, they demanded that the government ensure the provision of eggs to all children daily in Anganwadis and school midday meals within three months of its formation, and abolish the centralized kitchen system for midday meals.
The campaign also emphasized that ending ground-level corruption should be a priority for the next government, calling for an immediate curb on the contract system and the establishment of an active decentralized grievance redressal system, as well as the activation of all commissions (Women's Commission, Human Rights Commission, Information Commissioner, etc.) through appointments.
The press conference was addressed by Ambika Yadav, Ajay Ekka, Aloka Kujur, Basingh Hessa, Dinesh Murmu, Elina Horo, Nand Kishore Ganjhu, Ria Pingua, and Tom Kawla.
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