BJP MlAs were on Wednesday unanimous in extending support to Bihar Chief Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi during the floor test on February 20 though the saffron party is likely to take a formal decision on the matter on Thursday.
According to sources, at a closed-door BJP legislature Party meeting held in Patna this evening, party MlAs were unanimous in extending support to Manjhi, a Mahadalit.
All party MlAs felt that the way former Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has “humiliated a Mahadalit” he should be taught a lesson, a senior party leader said. The BJP legislators will again meet on Thursday to discuss their strategy during the floor test and a final decision on the matter is likely by Thursday evening ahead of Friday’s floor test.
Meanwhile, BJP tore into former Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, who is hoping a comeback, saying in his quest for power Kumar has lost trust of dalits by insulting Manjhi.
BJP’s leader of Opposition in Bihar Assembly Nand Kishore Yadav said, “In his quest for Chief Minister’s post, Kumar has lost the trust of dalits by insulting Jitan Ram Manjhi. The dalit community is feeling cheated by Nitish. They are completely disillusioned with him.” He said, barring a few hanging around Nitish in the hope of ministerial berths, no one from the community wants to hear his name.
“This is one major reason behind his frustration. Nitish Kumar is caught in a dilemma - neither can he see the future nor can he see the path of return,” Yadav said, in a statement. Yadav said Kumar initially thought that by joining hands with lalu Prasad he would have numbers to ‘browbeat’ and oust the dalit Chief Minister.