The Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), ally of the ruling Janata Dal (United) in Bihar, has condemned the Cabinet decision on Wednesday to annul 33 decisions taken by the Jitan Ram Manjhi government in its last days. The Opposition Bharatiya Janata Party and the Lok Jan Shakti Party (LJP) too have criticised the move.
Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, however, said here on Thursday that those decisions were “non-decisions” taken by the Manjhi Cabinet on February 10, 18 and 19 for being in the news and against the rules and procedures of executive business.
The decisions included those for paying 13 months’ salary to policemen every year; reservation for the poor among the upper castes in government jobs and for poor Dalits in tenders of the Road and Construction Department; and increasing the sum given to legislators under the Chief Minister’s development schemes from Rs. 2 crore to Rs. 3 crore each from the next financial year.
“Even they [the Manjhi government] could not have executed these irregular decisions,” Mr. Kumar said. “My USP is governance and the rule of law. How could I allow such violations at the top level of governance?”
RJD leader Bhagwan Singh Kushwaha, however, said, “Nitish Kumar should reconsider his decision as annulling them all does not hold good … some of them like 13 months’ salary to policemen were really good decisions.”
“The Nitish government has set a bad precedent. In this way, any government could set aside the Cabinet decisions of the previous government at their whims and fancies,” LJP State president Pashupati Kumar Paras told The Hindu .
ProtestsThe Hindustani Awam Morcha, supporting Mr. Manjhi, decided to protest by not celebrating Holi on Friday. The over one lakh policemen of the State have decided to stay away from the celebration and go on an agitation from March 27 if not paid 13 months’ salary, Mrityunjay Singh, president of the Bihar Police Association, said.
