Jharkhand BJP President Babulal Marandi Accuses CM Hemant Soren of DMFT Fund Scam, Demands CBI Inquiry

Ranchi: Jharkhand BJP president Babulal Marandi on Monday alleged that chief minister (CM) Hemant Soren, along with his officers, is involved in the District Mineral Foundation Trust (DMFT) fund scam, while demanding a CBI enquiry in to it.Marandi said, “The CM is the mastermind of the DMFT scam. He considers the fund as his ATM card. He placed his officers to withdraw the fund and all the looted money is getting deposited in his vault. If Soren wants to prove himself clean, he should recommend a CBI inquiry into the scam. Narendra Modi arranged for DMFT funds soon after becoming PM so that those living in mining areas can have access to basic facilities like roads, electricity, water, health, education.

The welfare measures is not being implemented.”Citing an example of Bokaro, he claimed, “DMFT funds of Rs 631 crore were received for the district for the 2024-25 and 25-26 financial years. But this fund was looted by the district administration through several companies.”“Multiple tenders, bloated payments more than the market rates for generators in 46 panchayats, digital mats in 1,666 Anganwadi centres, tab labs in schools, 187 high mast lights in the city, LED vans, lightning conductors in govt buildings, solar energy pump sets, modular kitchens in schools, upgradation of smart model schools, coaching for students, skill development and placement have been reported,” he stressed.

“Such scam is possible only at the behest of the chief minister. Hence, it needs to be investigated by central agency,” he said.Jharkhand Congress spokesperson Rakesh Sinha said, “DMFT is basically for districts where mining activities takes place. If Babulalji thinks there is a scam, then BJP’s MP MLAs too must be involved as public representatives in these areas are mostly of BJP. Moreover, review meetings of DMFT takes place with all officials and public representatives. How could their leaders miss out on the scam? This means, their MP and MLAs are also taking commission? Babulal ji is frustrated because he had dreamt of becoming the state CM, but the dream did not come true.

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