“Respected Prime Minister called today. He only spoke his ‘Mann Ki baat’. It would have been better if he had talked about the work done and listened to the other side,” Soren tweeted at 11.19 p.m. on Thursday.
NEW DELHI — A tweet by Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren taking a dig at Prime Minister Narendra Modi has not gone down well with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and some others in the political circles.
In a tweet on Thursday night, Soren had alleged that the Prime Minister did not listen to him during a phone call to discuss the Covid-19 situation.
On Thursday, Modi spoke to the Chief Ministers of Jharkhand, Odisha, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana over the prevailing Covid-19 situation in their respective states.
“Respected Prime Minister called today. He only spoke his ‘Mann Ki baat’. It would have been better if he had talked about the work done and listened to the other side,” Soren tweeted at 11.19 p.m. on Thursday.
Within an hour, Assam Health Minister and BJP leader Himanta Biswa Sarma tweeted: “Your tweet is not only against basic dignity, but also to make fun of the suffering of the people of the state for whom the Prime Minister called you to know about. You have lowered the dignity of the Chief Minister’s post.”
Hoping that the 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.”
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.”
BJP National General Secretary (Organisation) B.L. Santosh tweeted: “This is the level to which some politicians are stooping. PM calls and has detailed talk regarding Covid-19 crisis and this Chief Minister tweets so. Lacks minimum grace required for the position he holds.”
Soren’s tweet also did not go down well with YSRCP leader and Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy, who tweeted: “I have great respect for you, but as a brother I would urge you, no matter what ever our differences are, indulging in such level of politics would only weaken our own nation.”
In another tweet, Reddy said: “In this war against Covid-19, these are the times not to point fingers but to come together and strengthen the hands of our Prime Minister to effectively combat the pandemic.”
However, Congress spokesperson Pawan Khera seized the opportunity to target the BJP, saying: “It is very serious and worrying that even at this time, the Prime Minister only wants to talk, not listen.” — IANS
