Garhwa/Ranchi (Jharkhand), Dec 8 (PTI) Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren on Thursday kicked off 'Khatiyani Johar Yatra' to mark three years of UPA government in the state.

The United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government in the mineral-rich state will complete three years in power on December 29. It unseated the BJP-led government from power in the 2019 assembly elections.

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Speaking at Town Hall Ground in Garhwa while launching the yatra, he alleged that the Opposition was using media, social media and central agencies to tarnish the image of the JMM-Congress-RJD government in the state.

"The Opposition has been making false allegations against the state government over corruption and law and order situation, while there was a long list of scams that took place under the BJP regime in the state," he said.

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The three ruling parties will jointly take out the yatra which will cover all the districts of the state in a phased manner by February next year. Six districts -- Garhwa, Palamu, Gumla, Godda and Deoghar – will be covered in the first phase which will conclude on December 16.

Soren alleged that while the Opposition is failing to fight the ruling alliance politically, it is using central agencies such as Enforcement Directorate (ED), Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and Income Tax Department to "destabilise the government".

Highlighting the state government's initiatives in the last three years, including a domicile policy based on the 1932 Khatiyan (land records), hiking OBC reservation to 27 per cent, universal pension scheme, loan waiver for farmers and crop relief, Soren said, "The Opposition can never match the work done by our government."

"In the last three years, our government has connected lakhs of poor people with various welfare schemes. We are giving rights to the people but the Opposition cannot see the happiness of the people of Jharkhand," he said.

Cabinet ministers from Congress and RJD, Badal Patralekh and Satyanand Bhokta respectively, were also present on the occasion.

The BJP, however, took a jibe at the yatra.

The party's state president Deepak Prakash said, "The CM should take out a Maafi Yatra (apology march) instead of Johar Yatra. The state government has failed on all its promises. Corruption, crime and unemployment are at their peak under the Hemant Soren regime," he said.

Aam Admi Party (AAP) state spokesperson Onkar Jaiswal alleged that the yatra was nothing but an attempt to deviate people's attention from corruption charges against Soren.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)