Bihar CM Manjhi refuses to step down, Nitish to stake claim today

February 09, 2015 08:51

The struggle for one-upmanship in Bihar has widened, as a defiant Chief Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi affirmed that he would not resign, while the rival camp led by Nitish Kumar announced he would stake claim to power on Monday and parade legislators at Raj Bhavan.

Manjhi, a 'mahadalit' leader was hand-picked by the then chief minister Nitish Kumar as his replacement last year after the rout of Janata Dal (United) in the Lok Sabha polls, met Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Delhi and at a press conference afterwards said he had no plans of quitting.

He said he would prove his majority in the assembly on February 20 and step down only if he fails.

"Assembly is the place to prove majority. I have already written to the Governor for convening Budget Session of the Assembly. I will prove my majority on February 19 or 20. If Nitish Kumar has numbers, why is he unduly worried. If they prove I do not have numbers, I will step down," he told reporters.

Meanwhile, Nitish Kumar's camp announced he will meet Governor Kesari Nath Tripathi at 1.30pm after JD(U) submitted letters of support of the RJD, Congress, CPI and an independent MLA claiming that Nitish had the backing of 130 MLAs in a 243-member House.

Bihar Speaker Uday Narayan Chaudhary too recognised Nitish Kumar as the new leader JD(U)LP leader and the party said it had replaced Manjhi after he refused to step down.

The Governor on Sunday accepted resignation of 20 cabinet Ministers loyal to Nitish, who put in their papers on Saturday.

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