Nitish Kumar’s goons said they’ll kill me if I speak my mind: Jitan Ram Manjhi

Mangalore Today News Network

New Delhi, Apr 04, 2015: Stepping up his attack on his onetime mentor, former Bihar Chief Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi has accused incumbent Chief Minister Nitish Kumar of having committed all kinds of "atrocities" on a Mahadalit man like him.

"Nitishji has said that he had committed a mistake by appointing me as chief minister and I had responded by saying that it was not his mistake but a blunder," Manjhi said. "But he did not merely commit a blunder; he perpetrated all kinds of atrocities on me."

Addresses rally

Addressing a rally of his newly-floated outfit, Hindustani Awam Morcha (HAM), in Darbhanga, 130 km from Patna, on Thursday, Manjhi alleged that Nitish had not only undermined his ability but also got others to humiliate, threaten and ridicule him.

The former chief minister, who was once considered a close confidant of Nitish, said that he had always kept a low profile and seldom spoke. "This probably gave a wrong impression about me to Nitish who thought that I would dutifully toe his line if I was made chief minister," he said. "Such prejudices against Scheduled Caste persons are not unusual, though."

"His cronies accused me of having lost my mental balance. They said that I had a penchant for speaking nonsensical things," he said. "Not only this, one of them even threatened to kill me if I started to speak my mind."

The Mahadalit leader, who resigned on February 20, hours before the floor test, said this reflected the mindset of Nitish towards the Dalits.

"I used to consider Nitish a good man. When he offered the chief minister’s post, I thought that he had chosen a Mahadalit leader like me because he had the interest of Scheduled Caste people at heart," he said. "But I soon realised that I was wrong."

Manjhi, who was expelled from the JD-U on February 9 after he refused to resign and make way for Nitish to return as chief minister, said that the latter had earned a lot of praise for having appointed a Mahadalit leader as his successor after he resigned last year. "But he turned hostile towards me when I started working in the interest of the poor, Dalits, minorities and other sections of the people," he added

Manjhi said that he was removed as the chief minister without any rhyme or reason. "I fail to understand as to what was my fault. Even a fourth grade employee in the government is served a show-cause notice before he is dismissed. But in my case, I was ousted without being asked for any explanation".

The 69-year-old leader said that the people of Bihar, however, would give a befitting reply to oust the Nitish government in the next Assembly polls, due later this year.

"Our party will form the next government in Bihar. Our rally in Patna on April 20 will be the beginning of the JD-U government’s end."

Manjhi has been travelling to different cities in the state to invite people to attend his upcoming rally at Gandhi Maidan in Patna. The former chief minister has claimed that about 5 lakh people will take part in the rally.

Former minister Shahid Ali Khan, who attended the Darbhanga rally, said that Manjhi would polarise the Dalits votes in his favour in the next elections. "The response of the people, especially the Dalits, towards Manjhi is phenomenal," he said.

Courtesy: Indiatoday