PATNA, May 23: Indicating realignment of political forces in Bihar, the three-day-old Jitan Ram Manjhi Government today won the trust vote in the Assembly with support from the RJD, till recently JD(U)’s bitter foe, Congress and others.
The confidence motion, moved by the new chief minister, was passed by a voice vote with the JD(U)’s 117 members, RJD’s 21, Congress (4), CPI (1) and two independents raising their hands and thumping the desk in support of the motion.
The incumbent Government now enjoys a comfortable majority with the support of 145 members in the 237-member House at present.
As expected, BJP’s 88 MLAs staged a walk-out from the House in protest against what they said an “unholy alliance” between the JD(U) and the RJD even as the chief minister was in the middle of his maiden speech while replying to the debate on the trust motion.
Earlier, participating in the three-hour debate on the motion, RJD legislature party leader Abdul Bari Siddique extended unconditional support to the Manjhi Government and said that the BJP should not have any doubt about the majority of the incumbent Government.
Extending his party’s backing to the Government, he, however, said that the RJD would monitor the state’s performance and may reconsider its support if it failed to perform in any manner.
Amid the buzz that the RJD’s unconditional support to the Manjhi Government may be precursor to some sort of an alliance with the JD(U) in future, Siddique ruled out such a prospect, saying that it constituted only outside support to the JD(U) Government merely to ensure its survival in power .
Congress legislature party leader Sadanand Singh hailed former chief minister Nitish Kumar for resigning in keeping with his high moral standards after his party was snubbed in the Lok Sabha election.
Singh said that his party would stand by its support to the JD(U) Government as was communicated to the Governor in a letter recently.
68-year-old Manjhi was made the new Chief Minister by his predecessor Nitish Kumar on May 20, two days after the latter resigned from his post taking moral responsibility for the JD-U’s rout in the Lok Sabha poll last week.
A six-term MLA, Manjhi was the SC/ST minister in the Nitish Kumar Government till his elevation as the chief minister.
Making his maiden speech in the House as Chief Minister, Manjhi profusely thanked Nitish Kumar for naming him successor and attacked the BJP for dubbing him as “weak” and liable to be remote-controlled by Kumar in future.
“I am neither ‘weak’ nor will be ‘remote controlled by anyone,” he said.
Manjhi said that Kumar’s choice of him as his successor proved the latter’s respect towards the Mahadalit community.
He also thanked the RJD for extending unconditional support to his Government, though it was not required or sought by the JD(U).
He also expressed disappointment with the BJP for raking up issues of national politics and targeting Kumar during the debate on the trust vote.
Manjhi said BJP leader (Leader of the Opposition) Nandkishore Yadav needlessly spoke on the national politics and mandate in the 2014 general election, besides saying a lot of negative things about Kumar which were not unncessary.
The chief minister claimed that Rs 8,000 crore was spent by the saffron party for campaigning and publicity in Bihar alone, raising the hackles of the Opposition bench with the Leader of the Opposition daring Manjhi to prove his charge.
Manjhi promised to carry forward Kumar’s vision and agenda during the remaining period of his tenure. (PTI)
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