Former Chief Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi, while continuing his attack on mentor Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, on Sunday said that he would launch his political party on April 20 at a public meeting but ruled out possibility of pre-poll alliance with any party. “Hum apne dam par ladenge (We will fight on our own strength). But there may be post-poll alliance with any party including the BJP. If we fail to form the Government on our own we may seek help of BJP,” said Manjhi on the eve of his day-long fast and dharna at Gandhi Maidan here on Monday. The dharna would be organised under the banner of Hindustani Awam Morcha (HAM), the front Manjhi announced last week.
“Our guerilla warfare against Nitish will continue,” he declared. Manjhi said he and his supporters would sit on dharna against the scrapping of several decisions his Government had taken in the interest of the poor of all sections of the society. At a Cabinet meeting on Wednesday, Nitish annulled about 34 decisions of the Manjhi Government on technical ground. Manjhi called upon the contract teachers, policemen, farmers, Asha workers, tola sevaks and others for whom he had taken decisions to join him.
The former CM rejected the suggestion of senior RJD leader Raghubansh Prasad Singh to Nitish for inclusion of Manjhi as the Deputy Chief Minister in his Cabinet and said he was not hungry for any post. He praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi and said, “He is now a changed person at least in the matter of secularism.”
The RJD leader also disliked annulment of Manjhi decisions by Nitish and said the scrapping of pro-poor decisions would cost Nitish dearly. He said if it was wrong for a minority Government headed by Manjhi to take decisions, it was also equally wrong to scrap them by another Government which is yet to prove its majority.
Manjhi also countered Nitish’s contention that the Cabinet decisions had been taken irregularly and without formal proposal from the departments concerned and said what he did was not unprecedented. He claimed that in the past several major decisions had been taken at the Cabinet meetings without formal proposals.
Nitish has hinted that some of the decisions annulled might be reconsidered in a proper manner. He said the 13 months salary to police personnel was his decision and it should have been brought in the cabinet meeting in a regular way. The Mahdalit leader who served as the CM for nine months, said his party has target to contest 125 Assembly seats, but this target might be increased and the party might consider to contest all the 243 seats. “Why we should go to any party for alliance. Why other parties should not come to usIJ” he asked. To a query that many of supporters were in touch with other parties, he said, “Till date they are solidly with me but I don’t know what they will do in future.”
Former Deputy CM and BJP leader Sushil Kumar Modi also came in support of the Manjhi’s decisions and said Nitish had no moral right to reject them. “If our party came to power in Assembly elections, it will seriously consider to implement all those decisions,” he announced and accused Nitish of scrapping them just out of jealousy and enmity with Manjhi. He said taking excuse that those decisions were not taken in proper way was not valid and even if there was any hitch it could had been removed.