Former Chief Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi on Wednesday accused his former mentor Nitish Kumar as a culprit under SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act and vowed to take revenge at the hustings. Addressing a meeting here to mark the 41st anniversary of Jai Prakash Narayan's call for total revolution, Manjhi said, "Nitish made me the Chief Minister thinking that a Mahadalit would be coerced to toe the line willingly or forcibly. This comes under the purview of the Dalit Prevention of Atrocities Act because he committed atyachar (atrocity) by hatching such a design," he alleged.
CM Nitish Kumar had once admitted that he committed galti (mistake by making Manjhi CM to which the Mahadalit leader had said that he committed mahagalti (blunder). Now he says Nitish committed atyachar by making him CM. Hitting hard at Nitish, who made Manjhi CM on May 20, 2014 after resigning, he said if he continued in the office for another four months "there would have been no person left to remember Nitish and I would have showed my authority."
He called upon the people to reach Patna on April 20 where he is holding a rally under the banner of his forum Hindustani Awam Manch at Gandhi Maidan. "I will show my strength and ask the lakhs of participants to raise their hands in support of my revolutionary decisions which have been cancelled by Nitish. Seeing lakhs of hands raised in my support, he (Nitish) should resign if he has left with some dignity," said Manjhi who has pledged to dethrone Nitish, to avenge his removal, in the coming Assembly election.
Manjhi challenged, "I will take political sanyas if even one of my 34 revolutionary and pro-poor decisions is proved to be against the interest of the JD(U) or the State. Neither Bihar nor the party suffered because of my works but it certainly hit the interests of one person (Nitish)" and claimed, "What Nitish could not do in eight years I did in a brief period."
Paying tributes to JP, Manjhi, who was in the Congress during the movement, said the society and politics needs total change. The society, he said, is divided in many religions and thousands of castes while the fact is that it has only two sections: Rich and poor while ancestors of all religions and castes and groups were the same. "They are all human beings and deserve equal rights. The principle of live and let live will ensure a perfectly harmonious society bereft of animosity and discrimination," he said.
The meeting organised by the little known JP, lohia, Gandhi Vichar Manch had only one former Minister Narendra Singh. While only two MlAs, both sons of Singh, were present arousing a suspicion if Manjhi's other supporting legislators and his Cabinet colleagues are keeping a distance from him or taking a different line. One of Manjhi's close confidants and Islampur MlA Rajib Ranjan, who is HAM's spokesman recently issued a statement favouring land Acquisition Bill even as Manjhi has opposed it.
