Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) working president Hemant Soren won praise on social media including from Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia after he shared a photo of the books he had received as "gifts" rather than bouquets.
Soren is set to take oath as the 11th chief minister of Jharkhand on Sunday in a ceremony that will be attended by top opposition leaders.
"No one should stay away from poor and deprived education in Jharkhand, that is my resolve. Thank you kindly to all of you for offering a 'book' in place of 'bouquet'," Soren wrote on Twitter while sharing a photo of himself with books he had apparently received as gifts since his party swept the state elections.
झारखंड में कोई भी गरीब और वंचित शिक्षा से दूर न रहे, यही मेरा संकल्प है। 'बुके' की जगह 'बुक' भेंट देने के लिए आप सभी का सहृदय धन्यवाद। pic.twitter.com/jeh1zZ7moV— Hemant Soren (@HemantSorenJMM) December 28, 2019
Soren had earlier asked his wellwishers and supporters in Jharkhand on Friday to greet him with books instead of bouquets.
साथियों, मैं अभिभूत हूँ आप झारखंडवासियों के प्यार एवं सम्मान से। पर मैं आप सबसे एक करबद्ध प्रार्थना करना चाहूँगा, कि कृपया कर मुझे फूलों के ‘बुके’ की जगह ज्ञान से भरे ‘बुक’ मतलब अपने पसंद की कोई भी किताब दें। मुझे बहुत बुरा लगता है की मैं आपके फूलों को सम्भाल नहीं पाता। 1/2 pic.twitter.com/RXVQ7aghXW— Hemant Soren (@HemantSorenJMM) December 27, 2019
Soren's image with the books on Sunday was liked and shared by thousands of Twitter. And among those impressed by the move was none other than Sisodia.
"Congratulations @HemantSorenJMM," The Aam Aadmi Party leader wrote. "Yes! If all the CMs of the country make education their priority, then the country will move forward very fast. We have successfully done this experiment in Delhi. There is no dearth of capacity among the youth of our country. There is a need to provide a better education system to them".
बधाई @HemantSorenJMM जी! यदि देश के सभी CM शिक्षा को अपनी प्राथमिकता बना लेंगे तो देश बहुत तेजी से आगे बढ़ेगा।दिल्ली में हमने सफलतापूर्वक यह प्रयोग किया है। हमारे देश के युवाओं में क्षमता की कोई कमी नही है उन्हें एक बेहतर शिक्षा व्यवस्था उपलब्ध करवाने की जरूरत है। https://t.co/SbJAd1pT1p— Manish Sisodia (@msisodia) December 29, 2019
In the just-conducted Assembly elections, the JMM-Congress-Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) alliance triumphed over the BJP, winning 47 seats in the 81-member House.
This, however, is not the first time that a politician has asked for books instead of other gifts such as bouquets and other items. Kerala's 'Mayor Bro' turned MLA VK Prasanth won the internet earlier in the year with his call to give him books instead of flowers after he took up office as the Vattiyoorkavu MLA in the state's by-poll elections.
