Newly-elected Bihar Chief Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi of the JD(U) on Friday won the confidence vote with the support of the RJD while the Opposition BJP legislators staged a walkout. During the special session debate, leaders of the JD(U), the BJP and the RJD, exchanged barbs against each other for indulging in ‘immoral and unprincipled’ politics.
When the debate set off on the trust vote moved by the Manjhi Government in the Assembly, leader of Opposition and BJP leader Nand Kishore Yadav emphatically said that the change of the guard in the Bihar Government was not any other reason but a side effect of Narendra Modi’s stupendous victory in the lok Sabha polls.
While attacking former Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, the BJP leader charged that it was only because of his deep hatred against Narendra Modi, he has plunged Bihar into a “crisis” but even after he made an alliance with the party he was describing its 15 years of regime as “jungle raj”. He would not stop the BJP from coming to power in the next Assembly polls.
The BJP leader also said that his party had not sought the confidence motion by the Government but the new Government has brought it only to expose itself.“Ye ajab sanyog hai. Jis party ke khilaf Nitish Kumar ko mandate mila aur woh Chief Minister bane.. jis party ke 15-saal ke shashan ko kushashan aur jungle raj kehte rahe usi party ke sahyog se sarkar chala rahe hain,” said Nand Kishore Yadav in his one-hour thunderous speech.
He also reminded Jitan Ram Manjhi that even before Narendra Modi became the Prime Minister of the country, his aache din (good days) has come. But, he was not handpicked by Nitish Kumar as he comes from a poor and underprivileged section of the society but because of the blow he got in the lok Sabha poll, said Nand Kishore Yadav.
“Had Nitish Kumar not been dealt with this blow in the general elections, he would have never resigned to make way for you to become the Chief Minister but I’m happy and congratulate you for becoming the Chief Minister of the State,” the BJP leader said.The BJP MlAs were wearing red caps inside the House and shouting slogan of ‘Narendra Modi zindabad’ at regular interval.
The leader of the Opposition also said that ever since his party’s rout in the lok Sabha poll, Kumar was in dharma sankat and he was mulling for options so that he would not have to greet Narendra Modi with bouquets.“He was looking for an escape route to avoid such difficult situation, so he executed all this drama of his resignation and made a Mahadalit Chief Minister in his place,” he said. He similarly had escaped from Bihar in the year 2000 when his seven-day-old Government had fallen, charged Nand Kishore Yadav.
The BJP leader also explained how Nitish Kumar had made Jitan Ram Manjhi as his successor for a temporary period. “Even before making you the Chief Minister, Nitish Kumar had got a resolution passed by his party MlAs that JD-U will go to the next 2015 assembly poll under his leadership and he will return to take responsibility if the party receives people’s mandate,” he said calling Manjhi a pawn put on chair as a stop gap arrangement.
While expressing wonder at the new political alliance in Bihar, Nand Kishore Yadav said that in lok Sabha poll Nitish Kumar had been taking potshots on both the Congress and the RJD, as mother of all corruptions. Nitish Kumar even was scaring people that if you would vote for the RJD and the old “jungle raj” would come again in the State. “logon ko darate the ki RJD ko vote doge to phir se lalu raj aur jungle raj aa jayega Bihar mein,” he said.
“Even the RJD chief lalu Prasad at his public rallies during the lok Sabha poll was telling people that Nitish Kumar was a “Babool tree” which he had nourished…but, if he would haven know it that he would become such chief minister he must have poured hot water on the plant,” charged the BJP leader while asking what happened to that claims for both the partiesIJ
“Kahan gaya dono ka ek dusre par kiya gaya observation…sirf sata ke liye samjhauta kar liya..lekin Bihar ki janata sab dekh rahi hai aur BJP kisi bhi kimat per ab jungle raj ki wapasi nahi hone degi,” claimed Nand Kishore Yadav in his usual thunderous style of delivery.However, the RJD leader, Abdul Bari Siddiqui, while putting brave face countered the Opposition leader’s speech with his own explanations and political observations.
“The RJD is supporting JD-U on her own and this support is unconditional. The JD-U has not asked for our support”, explained Siddiqui while saying that it all has happened to stall communal forces from coming to power in the state.“Now your leader Narendra Modi has become the Prime Minister, let’s see what happens in the country now. But, all the secular forces now will join hands to stop the communal forces from spreading its fangs in the country,” said the RJD leader amid exchange of barbs between the RJD, the JD-U and the BJP leaders. However, later the BJP leaders staged walk out from the assembly.
The newly elected Chief Minister, Jitan Ram Manjhi, responded the Opposition leader’s speech point by point and emphatically said that he has had a long political career so “his Government would not be a remote controlled Government.”Manjhi, though, expressed his profuse obligation to his predecessor chief minister Nitish Kumar as a visionary leader who made all turnarounds in Bihar and even made it possible for a mahadalit to become the Chief Minister of the State.
Meanwhile, the BJP MP from Patliputra, Ram Kripal Yadav, has slammed the RJD’s support to the JD-U Government in Bihar saying both have come together for “selfish reasons and the alliance was immoral.”With 21 MlAs of the RJD and the Congress with 4 legislators had earlier pledged support to Manjhi Government for the trust vote. With the RJD and the Congress, Manjhi Government also had support of 2 Independents and 1 CPI MlA and its own strength of 117 MlAs, including Speaker. The ruling party JD-U had total support of 145 MlAs to survive the Government comfortably.