Hemlal Murmu speaking Jharkhand Assembly. Photo: YouTube/Jharkhand Vidhansabha TV

An MLA of the ruling Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM), Hemlal Murmu, during the ongoing Budget session of the State Assembly on Tuesday (March 4, 2025), advised women to beat their husbands if they returned home drunk. “Many women of my Assembly constituency [Littipara] call me and ask me what to do if their husband returned home [after] drinking liquor. I tell them, ‘thok do’ (beat them up). Families are getting ruined due to alcohol,” Mr. Murmu said.

In response, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Koderma MLA Neera Yadav asked why the State government was selling liquor in Jharkhand. Instead of putting a stop to the sale of liquor, Ms. Yadav said, the government was advising that husbands be beaten, which was “not a proper answer”.

Mr. Murmu was speaking in the general discussion on the State Budget in the Assembly. He said women were becoming more successful due to the efforts of the State government. Giving the example of his constituency, the JMM legislator said that women were manufacturing 76,000 to 78,000 jute sacks per month, but marketing was lacking.

“If marketing is improved, the products manufactured by women of self-help groups will get a better market, and women will become financially prosperous,” Mr. Murmu said.

Women were earning ₹20,000 to ₹50,000 per month with the help of the government, he further claimed.

BJP State president and former Chief Minister Babulal Marandi accused the State government of “doing politics” even in the Budget speech.

“Finance Minister Radhakrishna Kishore did not take the name of Jharkhand’s creator [late former PM] Atal Bihari Vajpayee-ji in the Budget speech, which exposes the vile mentality of the government. The people of the State know the truth about who fulfilled the dream of a separate Jharkhand State,” Mr. Marandi said.

On Monday, the Jharkhand government tabled a ₹1.45 lakh crore Budget for the financial year 2025-26 in the State Assembly.

Mr. Marandi said that the size of the Budget looked large but its funds did not reach the public.

He said the Hemant Soren government had not explained where it would get the money for the budgetary provisions.

The BJP leader said the government’s revenue collection in the current financial year was only 58.82% to date, and in that too, the Centre’s share tax was 28.35%.

“The State government continuously spreads propaganda and confusion among the public against the Narendra Modi government of the Centre whereas the Modi government provides ample assistance to Jharkhand in all areas,” Mr. Marandi said.

Soren in Giridih

Meanwhile, Chief Minister Hemant Soren expressed disappointment over “fraudulent withdrawals” by men in the name of women from the Maiya Samman Yojana.

Speaking at the JMM’s foundation day celebrations in Giridih on Tuesday, Mr. Soren said he had intentionally stopped fund transfers for some time as “several clever and foxy people are withdrawing money from the back door”.