Amit Shah greets people on Jharkhand Statehood Day, salutes Birsa Munda on his Jayanti

'Heartiest congratulations to all my brothers and sisters in the state on the foundation day of Jharkhand,' Shah said in his tweet.

The heritage of ancient culture, Lord Birsa Munda has a rich history of this sacred land, he stated.

The polls to the 81-member Jharkhand assembly would be held in five phases from November 30 to December 20 and the counting would take place on December 23.

Shah said, 'I firmly believe that under the leadership of Chief Minister Raghubar Das, the state will set new standards.'

The BJP president also paid tributes to Munda, who was born on November 15, 1875. His birth anniversary is celebrated as Birsa Munda Jayanti in the country and coincides with the Jharkhand Foundation Day.

'The life of Birsa Munda ji is synonymous with struggle. He worked to give a new direction to the tribal society with his revolutionary ideas.

'He was known as 'Dharti Aba' for his efforts to regain the rights of tribals on the earth and forests. Salutations to him on the birth anniversary of such a great hero of the masses,' he said in his tweet.

Wishing that the people of Jharkhand scale new heights, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said, 'May Jharkhand keep scaling new heights of progress and realise Bhagwan Birsa Munda's dream of a prosperous and happy state'.

Among the greatest freedom fighters of India whose name is virtually unknown to the present generation, Munda fought for the rights of the original tribal inhabitants of India.

While he was martyred at the age of 24, his courage nevertheless stirred the impoverished Munda tribe of eastern India to fight for their rights and their land against the oppressive British rule.