As expected, Bihar Chief Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi on Thursday took a U-turn over his controversial statement he made on Tuesday that small traders and businessmen indulged in hoarding and black marketing for the welfare of their families would not be punished in his regime.
When his controversial statement got wide media coverage, Manjhi on Thursday clarified that he had never supported black-marketing by small traders but only said that those indulged in such activities must be treated sympathetically.“I never backed black-marketing by small traders per se but only said that those traders doing such activities out of ignorance should be treated sympathetically,” Manjhi explained to mediapersons.
He even added further that “those traders who were found involved in black-marketing and hoarding of goods must not be spared at all and dealt firmly as per law”.“There is no question of giving any leniency to anyone involved in such activities”, Manjhi said while describing black-marketing as a crime. He also cited an example to explain his statement which had earlier stirred a storm in the State.
“Suppose a murder takes place and someone gets 10 years of punishment while others are penalised with life imprisonment…so what I said must be taken into such perspective”, said the Bihar Chief Minister.Though, it was not for the first time that Manjhi had embarrassed his Government and predecessor Nitish Kumar with his frivolous statements and later taken an U-turn.Earlier, too he had backtracked from his statements while blaming media for distorting and misconstruing of what he had said.
A few days back, Manjhi had his foot in his mouth when in a programme he said that Dalit should raise their population upto 22 per cent to rule the State on their own but the very next day he just turned away from his statement saying he was only voicing for the Dalits to come together as a political force. Recently, he brought an embarrassment for his Government saying that corruption has not abated in the State despite Nitish Kumar’s best efforts and once he too had to pay bribe for settlement of an inflated electricity bill.
However, a few days after he again passed a controversial statement saying most of the arms licences in the State have been given to criminals while the genuine seekers, like his nephew had to wait for long.Interferingly, when these statements hit headlines Manjhi preferred to took U-turn explaining and clarifying what he actually meant to say.
Meanwhile, when asked that the State BJP leaders have demanded his resignation over his purported support to black-marketers and hoarders, Manjhi said that since his political adversaries have no other issue to raise they were making an issue out of his statement.“Mere virodhiyonke pas koi doosra mudda nahi hai isiliye woh hamare bayan ko hi issue bana rahe hain”, said Jitan Ram Manjhi.
Meanwhile, many in political corridor of the state believed that Manjhi’s misguided missile might become a major embarrassment for his predecessor Nitish Kumar who had handed over the baton of the state to his hand in May after his party had suffered a humiliating rout in the lok Sabha poll.
“Manjhi, though holding a constitutional post, has been proving a lose cannon with his statements bringing embarrassment to the government every other day…we fear that someday it wont become s major one to hit us hard”, said a state JD-U leader.