Bihar Chief Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi on Friday said that it was a big mistake on the part of senior Janata Dal-United leader Nitish Kumar to nominate him for the top spot in the state.
“Nitish Kumar committed a mahagalti (massive blunder) by nominating me for the CM spot,” Manjhi quipped at a press meet in Patna.
Sounding confident of winning the trust vote on February 20, Bihar Chief Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi said he would enter the ring as a “wrestler” without bothering about his win or loss.
“I will enter the ring as a ‘pahalwan’ (wrestler) without bothering how strong is the opponent and whether I will win or lose,” Manjhi said.
“I'll make an emotional speech to the legislators that I stand for welfare of the poor and downtrodden of the society. If you agree with me then come along and if I do not get adequate response I'll quit the CM post,” Manjhi said.
Asked if he was banking on BJP support, Manjhi said, "I am standing alone and shall appeal to the legislators of all parties to accept my humble appeal to continue working for the poor and downtrodden."
Manjhi said, "I have not come to politics after selling my land and have to make money for livelihood... I came to politics with an intention of public service."
On his mentor Nitish Kumar's repeated allegation of horse trading, Manjhi said, “I am poor and a pauper and have no money for horse-trading.”
Seeking to turn the tables on his adversaries, Manjhi said, “They (Nitish group) are actually indulging in horse trading by taking MLAs to Delhi and keeping them in posh hotel...about Rs 1 lakh was spent on each MLA in this journey.”
Flanked by minister Mahachandra Prasad Singh, his appointed chief whip Rajiv Ranjan and rebel MLA Ravindra Rai, Manjhi said he would once again appeal to Governor Keshari Nath Tripathi for a secret ballot during confidence vote.
The governor has asked the speaker to look into two options of lobby division or secret ballot during the trust vote that would take place on the opening day of the budget session of the assembly after his speech to joint session of the Bihar legislature.
Unmindful of rivals' claim that he enjoys the support of only 12 MLAs, Manjhi said, “Hum datte hua hain aur antim tak ladai larte rahenge chahe uska parinam jo ho (I am standing my ground and will fight till the end irrespective of results).”
Manjhi said it was wrong of Nitish Kumar to treat him like a puppet.
“Nitish underestimated me. I was not a puppet nor was I a rubber stamp chief minister,” he said. "I have been an active politician for over three and a half decades. It was wrong the way Nitish Kumar treated me,” Manjhi said.
With inputs from PTI
