Jharkhand Mukti Morcha chief Shibu Soren seems to have taken a leaf out of Maharashtra Navnirman Sena chief Raj Thackeray's book.
Following the footsteps of the MNS chief's call for 'Marathi pride', Soren publicly claimed on Sunday that Jharkhand remained the sole preserve of adivasis (tribals) and Moolvasis (original settlers).
Soren's remarks are likely to snowball into a major controversy in Jharkhand, where about 50 per cent of the total population comprises of non-tribals.
The former Union minister, popularly known as Guruji in Jharkhand, made it clear that state of Jharkhand was created to honour the rights of tribals and not non-tribals.
"What we wanted was the rapid development of Jharkhand with the right and dignity of the actual sons of the soil, who were left in lurch," Soren said at a rally in Dumka on Sunday.
Soren sent a strong political message to his tribal supporters by saying that the time has come to fight for honour and for re-instating the rights that they had lost.
"We (tribals) helped create Jharkhand, but we are yet to taste its fruits," he said.
Soren, however, said he was not keen on creating hatred and trouble against any social or religious group.
At a time when Raj Thackeray's remarks against north Indians and the chhath festival have erupted into a major political controversy, Soren's theory of Jharkhand is bound to add fuel to the fire.
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