Patna: Harping on his sentiment, Bihar Chief Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi on Monday said he favoured that his successor should come from the Dalit community but he was duty-bound to back Nitish Kumar's candidature for the post if the JD(U) was voted to power in Assembly polls later this year.
Bihar CM Jitan Ram Manjhi. PTI
"One must understand difference between kartavya (duty) and bhavna (sentiment)....in my case, I am duty-bound to back Nitish Kumar's candidature for the chief minister's post if the party is voted to power again during the Assembly polls later this year," he told reporters on the sidelines of the weekly programme 'Janata Ke Durbar Mein Mukhya Mantri' at his official residence.
"I will definitely support such a resolution by the party (JD-U) to elect Nitish Kumar as the chief minister as we contest the Assembly polls under his leadership for which a decision has already been taken," Manjhi said.
The Chief Minister, at the same time, appeared to turn his back on the party line saying that his sentiments prompted him to say that he should be succeeded by a Dalit in the next government after the polls.
Outlining his reasons for backing a Dalit leader to succeed him, Manjhi, who himself comes from a mahadalit Mushar community, observed that a Dalit could care more about welfare of the poor and downtrodden sections of the society.
"A Dalit can think more about plight of the Dalit community and work for their welfare," he said in defence of his line for a Dalit to succeed him in the chief minister's post.
Asked about the reported move within the ruling JD(U) to replace him anytime apparently in the wake of his statements deemed to be digressing from the party line and hurting its electoral prospects, Manjhi said the party was free to take a decision in this regard at any time it deemed fit.
"Isme galat kya hai? (what is wrong in it if there is demand by some party leaders or legislators to replace him?)," he said disarmingly.
The JD(U) legislature party was going to meet on 20 or 23 February next to prepare strategy for the budget session of the state legislature where the party legislators were free to take a decision on the chief minister too if they were dissatisfied with his performance, he said.
"The party legislators are free to take a decision at the JD(U) legislature party meeting slated for February 20 or 23 next if the leadership is dissatisfied with my performance," Manjhi said.
On the RJD chief Lalu Prasad reportedly expressing dissatisfaction over his statements and asking senior JD(U) leader Nitish Kumar to take a call on his (Manjhi's status as the chief minister), he defended his actions saying that media has twisted his remarks.
On some state unit JD(U) spokespersons gunning for his head through statements in the media, the Chief Minister said that this issue was not in his domain and added that it was for the party leadership to look into the matter.
"Yeh party ka mamla hai (it's a party matter)," Manjhi said when the mediapersons drew his attention to JD(U) spokesperson Neeraj Kumar's diatribes against him lately.
"The JD(U) and more so senior party leader Nitish Kumar will look into it," he said referring to the party spokesperson's finding fault with him on a host of matters.
Meanwhile, Manjhi refused to comment on Union Water Resources Minister Uma Bharti describing him as 'messiah of poor'.
"I have no no comment to offer on Bharti praising him as the 'messiah of poor'," Manjhi told reporters in reply to a volley of questions.
"You know I am an open-minded person," the Chief Minister said in a lighter vein when the mediapersons persisted with their questions on the Union Water Resources Minister singing paeans of him at a formal meeting earlier in the days.
"Whosoever meets me will not go without praising me," he said in a bid to disarm the reporters.
It may be mentioned that Manjhi has gone on record saying that he will praise anybody who does something for betterment of Bihar and its people.
He had recently praised the Union Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh during signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for granting Central status to the Rajendra Agriculture University at Pusa.
The Chief Minister was quoted as saying that he will continue to praise Union ministers or whosoever who does something for betterment of Bihar and its people even though certain people will not like it, he had said referring to heartburn among his own party leaders.
PTI
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