With Assembly elections just months away, former Bihar Chief Minister and leader of Hindustani Awam Morcha Jitan Ram Manjhi on Monday blew the poll bugle at an impressive rally here and lashed out at incumbent Nitish Kumar for using him as his “mask” for political gain.
“Mr. Nitish Kumar used me as his mask: to avoid the party’s crushing defeat in the last Lok Sabha poll and to get his work done through a ‘yes man,’” said Mr. Manjhi.
Addressing the “Garib Swabhiman” rally organised by HAM, the former Chief Minister also listed welfare measures his government had taken for all sections of society, especially for the poor and downtrodden.
ADVERTISEMENT
“I took decisions for the welfare of teachers, youth, women, policemen and farmers but all of them were scrapped when Nitish Kumar replaced me,” alleged Mr. Manjhi.
He also questioned the Nitish Kumar government for spending huge sums of money on the construction of the international museum, the State legislature building and other “needless constructions.”
“It is a government of contractors, middlemen and brokers. They get huge amount of money in commission for such constructions,” charged Mr. Manjhi. Law and order had collapsed and corruption had increased manifold in the government, he added.
ADVERTISEMENT
He also took on the bureaucrats of the State and media persons for ignoring the voice of the poor and underprivileged and cautioned them to mend their ways.
“Nitish Kumar will not always be the Chief Minister of the State so I would appeal to the bureaucrats to work impartially,” he said.“ If I ask people not to see a particular channel, then where would your TRP go?”
“Ahead of the Assembly poll it was a political show of strength of Jitan Ram Manjhi to present himself as a leader of 16-22 per cent votes of Dalit,” psephologist Abhay Kumar told The Hindu .
Mr. Manjhi had earlier said that his party would not enter into any pre-poll alliance with any party in the state “but, we’ll support any other party opposing Nitish Kumar.” However, he had declared that he would announce the name of his new party on this occasion and would quit politics if less than five-lakh people turned up at his rally.
Despite heat and humidity an impressive crowd, mostly from the Dalit and Maha Dalit section of the community, attended the rally.