Nitish: Manjhi was a BJP spy and HAM wasn’t in the Bihar coalition
Nitish Kumar, the chief minister of Bihar, stated on Friday that Jitan Ram Manjhi, the founder of the Hindustani Awam Morcha-Secular (HAM-S), was “spying on Mahagathbandhan allies” for the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Bihar. His party is no longer a part of the ruling alliance because it is not prepared to merge with the Janata Dal (United).
The former chief minister Manjhi intended to attend the opposition party gathering on June 23 in Patna, but he was denied an invitation because of concern that he may provide information to the BJP.
Manjhi, however, said that leaving the coalition had made him feel “liberated,” and his party would soon determine what to do next.
In the 243-seat Bihar legislature, 164 MLAs are members of the Mahagathbandhan or Grand Alliance. There are four MLAs for HAM-S in the House. Along with HAM-S and the JD(U), other parties that are a member of the coalition include the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), Congress, and Left.
Two days before to Kumar’s comments, Santosh Suman, Manjhi’s son, resigned from the state government in protest at a plan to combine the HAM-S and the JD(U). Suman, national president of HAM-S, member of the legislative council, and former SC and ST welfare portfolio holder, said that he submitted his resignation because he had no other choice and “could not sacrifice his party.”
After Ratnesh Sada, a JD(U) MLA from Sonbarsa Assembly constituency, who assumed the vacant position, was sworn in, the chief minister spoke to media.
Manjhi was in frequent contact with BJP officials while snooping on the Mahagathbandhan allies. Recently, he had meetings with BJP leaders. It is a well-kept secret. He was eager to attend the meeting of the opposition, but we were aware of his plans. He would have given the BJP all information if he had remained with us and attended the meeting, according to Kumar, who is attempting to unite the Opposition leaders on a unified front in front of the Lok Sabha elections next year.
“I requested that Manjhi unite HAM-S and JD(U). He said he was unable to. I requested that he end the partnership. It’s fortunate he departed,” he continued.
Manjhi, however, said that leaving the alliance made him feel “liberated”. “I had pledged to stick beside Kumar no matter what. I feel free now that he has personally clicked the button to remove me from the alliance. Everything was well when Kumar was a member of the BJP-led NDA. He has now all of a sudden become allergic to the BJP, he informed HT by phone from Gaya.
The HAM-S leader further said that the party would choose its next course of action on June 19 in Patna at a national working committee meeting.
Suman denied claims that HAM-S was making BJP friends. Additionally, he said that his party “never [could] compromise its identity by merging with the JD(U)”. He said that the JD(U) and other alliance members opposed smaller parties expanding out of concern for their own survival.
The charges made against Manjhi, according to BJP state spokesman Arvind Singh, “were unbecoming of a leader of a chief minister’s stature.”
