Headlines
Expelled from JD-U, Manjhi seeks floor test; Nitish stakes claim
Patna, Feb 9
Battle lines were clearly drawn
in Bihar Monday as Chief Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi, expelled from the
ruling JD-U, sought to prove his majority on the floor of the assembly
even as his predecessor Nitish Kumar staked claim to form the government
and accused Manjhi of "horse-trading".
Days after Manjhi refused
to quit and dug in his heels, things came to a boil Monday, with Nitish
Kumar meeting Governor Keshri Nath Tripathi and formally staking claim
to form the next government.
"Manjhi is encouraging and
horse-trading," Nitish Kumar told the media outside Raj Bhavan here
after he, along with Janata-Dal United chief Sharad Yadav and Rashtriya
Janata Dal chief Lalu Prasad, met the governor.
Nitish Kumar,
along with 130 legislators of his JD-U, the RJD, the Congress and the
Communist Party of India, marched to Raj Bhavan.
Manjhi,
hand-picked by then chief minister Nitish Kumar as his replacement when
he quit last year after the JD-U's rout in the Lok Sabha polls, also met
the governor and sought to prove his majority in the assembly but by
"secret ballot".
In the 243-member assembly, the JD-U has 115
legislators -- most of whom are reportedly with Nitish Kumar. It is
backed by 24 legislators of the RJD, five of the Congress, two
Independents and one from the CPI.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has 88 legislators and is supported by three Independents.
Nitish Kumar accused Manjhi of trying to organise defections to stay in power.
"It
appears that Manjhi has got a horse-trading licence after he met Modi
in Delhi," he said, referring to the chief minister's meeting in Delhi
Sunday with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
"We, including Sharad
Yadav and Lalu Prasad, have informed Governor Tripathi that majority is
with us and we are ready to prove it in the state assembly any time
either today (Monday), or within 24 or 48 hours," he said.
Nitish Kumar said they will wait for the decision of the governor to invite him to take oath and form the next government.
But he warned that if the governor failed to invite him soon, they will parade their legislators before the president in Delhi.
Manjhi
was still defiant. "I am not running away. I am ready to prove my
majority in the state assembly whenever Governor Tripathi invites me for
it," he told the media outside Raj Bhawan after meeting Tripathi.
Terming
the ongoing move to replace him "a conspiracy against a Mahadalit", he
said he requested the governor to provide him the chance to prove his
majority Feb 19, 20 or 23. The assembly session will begin Feb 20.
Hours earlier, the JD-U expelled Manjhi from the party, and blamed the Bharatiya Janata Party for orchestrating the episode.
"Manjhi
has been expelled from the party (for six years). He has been indulging
in anti-party activities," JD-U leader K.C. Tyagi said in Delhi Monday.
"All
the things that happened were scripted. Operation Jitan Ram Manjhi has
been orchestrated by (BJP president) Amit Shah," he added.
In
Patna, JD-U leader Shrawan Kumar, who is considered close to Nitish
Kumar, told IANS that the party has also informed Governor Tripathi
about Manjhi's expulsion.
Nitish Kumar was re-elected the JD-U legislature party leader Saturday.
JD-U
spokesperson Neeraj Kumar said the numbers are with Nitish Kumar as he
enjoys the support of the majority of the party legislators and its
allies, the RJD and the Congress.
According to JD-U sources, only 12 party legislators are with Manjhi.
Meanwhile,
Manjhi's loyalist JD-U legislator Rajeshwar Raj Monday petitioned the
Patna High Court against Sharad Yadav who, he contended, "illegally" and
"unconstitutionally" summoned a legislature party meeting which elected
Nitish Kumar as its new leader.
Manjhi had already termed Yadav's decision to call the meeting illegal.