Nitish Kumar invited by the Governor to take charge as Bihar Chief Minister

JD(U) leader Nitish Kumar was on Friday invited by the Governor to take charge as Bihar Chief Minister, hours after Jitan Ram Manjhi resigned from the post. Nitish, who will be sworn-in as CM on Sunday, has been given three weeks to prove his majority. Addressing a gathering outside his house, Nitish said, “Manjhi ji should have resigned much earlier. I am now looking forward to serving the people of Bihar. With folded hands, I seek an apology from the public for my mistakes. I assure you I will not commit the same mistakes in the future.”

Meanwhile, Manjhi’s decision, which came just half an hour before he was supposed to face a floor test in the Assembly, took both opponents and loyalists by surprise. Manjhi had so far maintained that he would prove his majority in the 233-member House.

Following the resignation, a scheduled speech by Governor Keshari Nath Tripathi at the start of the Budget Session was cancelled. The House would now be adjourned sine die.

Manjhi’s supporters as well as the BJP had hoped that he would make an impassioned speech in the House, playing the Mahadalit card. At a hurriedly organised press conference at the CM’s House, Manjhi said, “I decided to resign this morning when I saw the seating arrangement in the House, which was sent by the Speaker. Names of some of my MLAs were not on the list and my ministers did not have positions near me. The Speaker did not recognise our chief whip and, surprisingly, the JD(U) was made the main Opposition. I felt my MLAs and I were insulted. We feared the marshals could misbehave with us. Plus I did not want my MLAs, some of them poor, to lose their membership for voting in my favour.”

Sources said 35 marshals were present in the House and 50 had been kept on standby to prevent any trouble. Forty ambulances were also kept on standby.Manjhi said he had not recommended dissolution of the House, and it was now up to the Governor to take a call.

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Source:Indianexpress

Nitish Kumar