PATNA: Stirring up yet another controversy, Bihar Chief Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi said, “If only Dalits stay away from booze no government in Bihar can form without their support”.
“I was made Chief Minister. Your population is about 22-23 per cent, including all Dalits. Your political awareness can make a Dalit the Chief Minister,” Manjhi had told a public meeting in Gaya on Thursday. Earlier, he had said there was no harm in consuming liquor in small quantities before going to bed. He had even asked the Dalits to go for inter-caste marriages to increase their numbers. Recently, Manjhi has been in the news for the wrong reasons.
Three days back the Chief Minister, who was handpicked by former Chief Minister Nitish Kumar as his successor, said he would draw a bigger development line than Nitish.
Perhaps Manjhi is dropping clear hints he has bigger ambitions. Despite the embarrassment caused by Manjhi’s utterances, neither the JD(U), nor Nitish have uttered anything against the CM as it could prove counterproductive, with the state elections due next year.