J'hand contributing to nation's development with minerals but its people living in poverty Soren

    Koderma, Feb 5 (PTI) Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren on Thursday said the state was contributing to the nation's development with its mineral reserves, but its people were being "forced" to live in poverty.
    Addressing a function in Koderma, where former Zilla Parishad chairperson Shalini Gupta joined the JMM, he said the district has mica reserves, and if mining were done in a planned way, local youths would not have to migrate to other states for earning a livelihood.
    Gupta had contested the Koderma seat in the 2024 assembly elections as an Independent and bagged around 27 per cent of the votes. She joined the JMM with hundreds of supporters.
    The RJD had fought the Koderma seat as part of the JMM-led coalition, and came second. The BJP won the seat, while Gupta came third.
    Soren said his government was working for the development of all sections of society.
    "We are committed to taking the benefit of the government welfare schemes to the last person in society. The government is running several welfare schemes for the welfare of the people," Soren added.
    "The state is rich in mineral reserves. It is contributing to the development of the country with coal, iron, mica and other minerals. But the state is still backwards, and its people are forced to live in poverty. It was done in a planned manner," he alleged.
    Soren said Koderma has a mica reserve.
    "If mica mining were done in a planned manner, the youth of Koderma would not have to migrate for livelihood to other states," he said.

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)