Jharkhand new domicile policy: 6 protestors in Ranchi served notice under CrPC
The six Ranchi residents said the notice showed the Jharkhand government’s uneasiness over the protests against the new domicile policy
Six residents from Ranchi have said that they were issued notices for allegedly disturbing peace though their protest against the new domicile policy cleared by the Jharkhand cabinet last week and alleged that it showed the state government’s uneasiness over the issue.
The notice was issued under Section 107 of the CrPC by the court of Ranchi sub division (sadar) on Sunday, directing them to appear before it on Monday.
The six persons include Kailash Yadav, convenor of Jharkhand Navnirman Manch, an umbrella body instituted to protest against the government’s move, besides five others including Pradip Tiwari, Ranjan Kumar, Navneet Kumar, Bittu Mishra and Ramkumar Yadav.
All six are residents of Dhurwa area in South Ranchi, which is home to the central PSU, Heavy Engineering Corporation (HEC), that has witnessed setllement of outsiders who came to work over the past several decades since the plant became functional in 1960s.
“We received the notice on Sunday and we are expected to appear before the SDO court on Monday. Our lawyer appeared before the court today and has sought extension of time for replying to the notice. As far as our protest is concerned, we will continue with our protests as planned. We will be organising a big protest in Ranchi on September 22,” said Yadav.
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On September 14, the Hemant Soren cabinet gave nod to a Bill fixing land records of 1932 as the cut off year for determining the domicile in the state. The Bill will become an Act only after it is cleared from the assembly and gets the governor’s nod.
Besides the opposition, elected representatives from the ruling camp have also come out in open, raising questions about the new policy, especially whether it would stand the scrutiny of court. A similar attempt in 2002 by then chief minister Babulal Marandi had led to violence in the state, besides the Jharkhand high court striking down the law.
“The notice shows the government’s uneasiness over the issue. We want to tell parties like and RJD that they should create pressure on the JMM to withdraw this policy or else the state will witness widespread protest because you can’t discriminate against people having settled here for several decades,” said Yadav.