Hindustani Awam Morcha (HAM) leader and Bihar Minister Santosh Kumar Suman on Tuesday resigned from the Cabinet alleging “pressure” from Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s JD(U) to merge the HAM founded by Suman’s father and ex-CM Jitan Ram Manjhi.
His resignation was quickly accepted, signaling the end for the four MLAs strong HAM’s presence in the ruling Mahagathbandhan.
Parliamentary Affairs Minister Vijay Kumar Chaudhary, whom Suman had handed over his resignation, told reporters, “The letter of resignation speaks of the inability to stay together because of personal reasons.”
“This clearly implies that HAM, of which Suman is the national president, ceases to be a constituent of the Mahagathbandhan,” said Chaudhary, who was accompanied by Deputy CM Tejashwi Yadav and JD(U) national president Rajiv Ranjan Singh “Lalan”.
Tejashwi pointed out that it was his RJD which had helped Suman get elected to the legislative council in 2018, maintaining that he did not believe the contention that he was under any type of pressure.
“I have been witness to the respect they got from the Chief Minister. Manjhi was made the chief minister (in 2014) by Nitish Kumar who also made his son a minister two and a half years ago and helped the latter retain his ministerial berth last year, when HAM followed JD(U) in quitting NDA and joining Mahagathbandhan,” said Yadav.
Lalan ridiculed the contention of Suman, who held SC and ST welfare portfolio, that JD(U) was putting pressure for a merger.
“When two parties are aligned together, talks centre around many topics. Of course, we were of the view that it was no point in their party surviving like a tiny shape and they would only grow stronger if they merge. But it was for them to accept or reject the proposal. How could anybody have forced it on them?” said Lalan.
He also asserted that the development was no setback to the meeting of Opposition parties scheduled here on June 23.
Speculation are rife that the development, which marks the third resignation of a minister since the Mahagathbandhan government was formed in August last year, has led to fresh demands for an expansion of the cabinet.
Earlier, two ministers from the RJD quota, Kartik Kumar and Sudhaker Singh, had resigned because of different reasons.
JD(U) MLA Ratnesh Sada, a Dalit leader from Sasaram district, was summoned to the chief minister’s residence, triggering speculation that he might be inducted as Suman’s replacement.
Congress legislature party leader Shakil Ahmed Khan, whose party is the third largest constituent of the Mahagathbandhan, and expects at least one more berth in addition to the two it holds, told PTI, “Cabinet expansion is expected for quite some time and whenever it takes place, it will be good for the ruling coalition.”