Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has decided to go on the offensive against Chief Ministers who breach protocol and make details of confidential meetings with Prime Minister Narendra Modi public.
Sources stated that the party decided to nip these political moves in the bud after Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren tweeted and claimed that the Prime Minister only did his “Mann ki Baat” during the conversation over the COVID-19 situation.
Sources in the BJP stated that this is the second time in the past few days that details of calls between the Prime Minister and a Chief Minister have been made public with the intent to politicise the issues discussed during conversations.
The party would use social media and other platforms to disseminate the right information and clarify any attempts at politicising such high level meetings, sources added.
“Recently Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal did a live telecast of a virtual meet with the PM Modi breaching protocol. Now, Jharkhand CM Soren dis something that can be termed breach of trust. This should be condemned,” stated a senior party leader.
BL Santhosh, the party’s National General Secretary (Organisation), too took to Twitter to condemn the details put out by the Jharkhand CM regarding his telephonic conversation with PM Modi.
“This is the level to which some politicians are stooping. PM called and has detailed talk regarding COVID-19 crisis and this CM tweeted so. He lacks minimum grace required for the position he holds,” Santhosh tweeted.
Earlier, Soren had tweeted in Hindi, “The Prime Minister called today. He only delivered his ‘Mann ki Baat’ during the conversation. It would have been better if he had listened to and spoken on important matters.”
Mizoram Chief Minister Zoramthanga and Nagaland Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio both criticised Soren for playing politics when PM Modi is extending help to combat COVID-19.
“In my experience as a Chief Minister for several tenures, PM Modi has always been sensitive to the concerns of the states, particularly those of the Northeast. I disagree with the Jharkhand CM and hope he retracts his statement,” tweeted Rio.
Union Minister Arjun Munda also took to social media to advise CM Soren to focus on how to deal with pandemic and not play petty politics that can demean his stature as Chief Minister of the state.