The purpose of Soren’s visit to Dumka (his constituency for the last five decades) was to preside over a function organised on the occasion of a local football match. Guruji, as Shibu is fondly called, went to neighbouring Masalia block too, but avoided visiting Pachwara village in Amrapara, where Valsa was killed.
Eyebrows were raised when Shibu neither condemned the killing nor asked any of his top-rung party leaders to visit Valsa’s house and pay homage on his behalf.
The stony silence maintained by Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) chief has baffled the people in general and Opposition leaders in particular.
Local sources told Deccan Herald that the committee of villagers (called Samiti), which was formed to oversee the implementation of the rehabilitation package by Panem Coalmines for displaced people, had been instrumental in shaping the electoral success of several JMM leaders. Such is their writ throughout Santhal Pargana that even Shibu Soren had to bite dust in 1998 Lok Sabha polls when the tribals felt alienated. After his wife Rupi Soren too was defeated in 1999 polls, frantic efforts were made to win over the confidence of Samiti leaders, including Sister Valsa.
Her covert support turned the tide in favour of Shibu, who, six years back, won with a margin of one lakh votes. The Samiti leaders also helped JMM’s Hemlal Murmu trounce veteran Congressman Thomas Hansda from Rajmahal.
Add fuel to the fire
This was perhaps the last straw. The relationship between the Samiti and the JMM took a turn for the worse when the villagers felt betrayed by JMM leaders’ insistence of industrialisation at the cost of tribals’ displacement.
JMM legislator from neighbouring Littipara, Sushila Hansda, added fuel to the fire when she went all out against Valsa and accused her in the Assembly of sending naked photographs of tribal girls to other countries. Sushila later apologised for her statement after the then Deputy Chief Minister and JMM MLA from Dumka, Stephen Marandi, took strong exception to her remarks.
But by then, the damage had already been done. The relationship between Valsa and the JMM had gone for a toss. While the JMM now started opposing the activities of Valsa, the Samiti members issued a diktat to boycott JMM leaders.
Even the local JMM leaders were kept out of bounds, such was the influence of Valsa in and around her fiefdom.
During the last Assembly polls, the JMM leaders could not enter the villages where Valsa had a hold. Valsa’s growing influence irked the JMM leaders as she did not allow them to have their say in development activities of Panem and restricted the monetary benefits to the project-affected people (as per the agreement that the villagers had signed with the company).
No wonder, Shibu’s son Hemant Soren, who is at present the Deputy Chief Minister of Jharkhand, too has not condemned the killing of a woman who sacrificed her life for the welfare of tribals.