Bihar crisis: Ahead of confidence vote, Manjhi virtually lures MLAs with ministerial berths

Patna, Feb 19:Ahead of tomorrow's confidence vote, Chief Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi today virtually dangled the carrot of ministerial berths to garner support from MLAs.

Manjhi, who was speaking at Garib Swabhiman Sammelan here, appealed to the people to request their MLAs to support him. "You all should request your MLAs that they should support me if I have not done anything wrong in thinking about the poor.

If they are going against me for becoming ministers, tell them I too have many such vacant posts. I will also make them ministers," he said. "I did a little for the poor and they (opponents) started asking for my removal. Will you all accept this?"

"Be a little patient. I will do more for you," he said adding what he has done so far after becoming chief minister was merely a 'trailer' and the actual fight was yet to come. "I am ready to die, but not ready to bow down," he said.

Expressing apprehension that measures announced by him could be annulled if another government comes to power, Manjhi said he has at least paved the way for the poor.

"What I have thought about could be eclipsed by those who will come after me. I am not worried about myself but I am worried about the society. I can take heart that I am going after paving the way for the poor and thinking something about everybody," he said.

Manjhi said he was made the chief minister thinking he would work as directed. "I want to confess that for the first two months I did so.

List came as to who all will become my ministers and I just signed. Lists of transfers and posting of officials came, I used to sign. I was labeled as being run by remote and as a rubber stamp Chief Minister.

"After two months, I realised that I was cheating the society as chief minister and I must do something for it as I have been given the opportunity. But when I started working for the society, people of feudal mentality became unnerved," he said.

Manjhi said even a child takes nine months to take birth, but he was not given this time. But he could do some work at least in the short period he got.

PTI