New Delhi: Coming down heavily on Hindustani Awam Morcha (HAM) leader Jitan Ram Manjhi on Thursday, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar said it was a mistake on his part to have made Manjhi the chief minister. Speaking during a discussion on the Reservation Amendment Bill in the Bihar Assembly, CM Kumar said, “It was my mistake that I made this person (Jitan Ram Manjhi) CM. Within two months, my party leaders started saying that there was some problem and that Manjhi should be removed. Then I became the chief minister. He (Manjhi) keeps saying that he was the chief minister. He became CM because of my foolishness.”
CM Kumar targeted Manjhi after the latter lashed out at the Bihar government saying he does not trust the caste census and flagged “incorrect statistics”.
Raising concern over the caste census, Manjhi had said although the caste-based reservation is supposed to be reviewed every 10 years, the Bihar government hasn’t reviewed it. “By now, there should have been 16 percent reservation. However, it is only 3 per cent till date. The caste-based survey was wrong. If the data is wrong, then the benefits will also not reach the right people.”
Irked by his comments, CM Kumar said Manjhi became the chief minister because of his “stupidity”. "Inko kuch idea hain? Ye toh meri galti hain iss aadmi ko humne bana diya tha mukhya mantri. Koi sense nahi hain inka. (Does he (Manjhi) have any idea? It was my mistake that I made him the CM. He does not have any sense," CM Kumar said.
Reacting to the chief minister’s remarks, Manjhi said it looks like CM Kumar has “lost his mental balance”.
“I wanted to get up and speak in the Assembly but the Chief Minister got up and started uttering nonsense. I was surprised if this was the same Nitish Kumar who was there a few days back. It seemed that he was here today in a different form. I think he has some mental weaknesses which is why he is saying this. I think he has lost his mental balance,” Jitam Ram Manjhi said.