Jharkhand Assembly Elections: BJP and JMM's war of words over Birsa Munda chowk

New Delhi: The central government's renaming of the Sarai Kale Khan intersection in Delhi as Birsa Munda Chowk on the 150th birth anniversary of the tribal leader and freedom fighter on Friday triggered politics over claiming his legacy amid the Jharkhand assembly election.

Jharkhand chief minister and JMM leader Hemant Soren alleged that it was an insult to the tribal faith. He demanded that the Centre withdraw its decision and give Birsa Munda a place which befits his dignity. He shared a picture of a bus stop on X and said that this small square had been named after Bhagwan Birsa Munda.

"If this is not an insult then what is it? Was there no other suitable place in the capital city of Delhi to honour the deity of our tribal people, in keeping with their prestige and our faith? Couldn't Central Vista be named after our Lord?


This is an insult to all the tribals/indigenous people of the country including Jharkhandis. We demand the central government to immediately withdraw this move - and give our Lord, our hero the place befitting his dignity, our faith," Soren said in a post on X on Saturday morning.

Union home minister Amit Shah responded to Soren's allegations at a public meeting in Dumka on Saturday. "On the birth anniversary of Bhagwan Birsa Munda, a statue of Bhagwan Birsa Munda was installed at Sarai Kale Khan Chowk in Delhi.

But Hemant Babu (Hemant Soren) opposes it," he said. "In 2021, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced to celebrate the birth anniversary of Lord Birsa Munda as 'Janjatiya Gaurav Diwas'."