Jitan Ram Manjhi seeks Union ministers’ help, gives ultimatum

PATNA: Bihar CM Jitan Ram Manjhi on Wednesday charged the Centre with ignoring the interests of the state and said he would not allow the seven Union ministers from Bihar, whom he called ‘Sat Bhaiyas’, from entering the state if they did not cooperate with him in the matters of development of Bihar.
Seeking the support of NDA ministers in Narendra Modi’s council of ministers, Manjhi said that all the seven ‘bhaiyas’ should help him reap maximum benefits for the state.He said the central allocation for construction of toilets has been reduced from Rs 15,000 to Rs 12,000 each. He urged the ministers to ensure that funds were not deducted any further.
Though the chief minister did not take any names, the seven ministers are Radha Mohan Singh, Ravi Shankar Prasad and Ram Vials Paswan (all cabinet ministers), Rajiv Pratap Rudy (MoS Independent charge), Upendra Kushwaha, Ramkripal Yadav and Giriraj Singh (all MoS).
In a jibe against upper castes, Manjhi recalled his school days and said the children belonging to marginalized sections of the society were made to drench their hands in the sewerage water to clean the drains while the students from well-off families were entrusted with the task of cleaning the vicinity with brooms. Manjhi said he had himself cleaned drains near his school in those days.

Manjhi also said in a lighter vein that “thokar kha kar mukhya mantri ho gaye, wahi thokar kha kar Pradhan Mantri na ho jaye (I have become chief minister after facing hardship and might become Prime Minister after suffering the same).”
Addressing a function organized under the joint auspices of JEEViKA and state rural development department at S K Memorial hall here to mark the World Toilet Day, the CM expressed anguish for high percentage of open defecation in the state and said the state government had laid a target to construct two crore toilets by 2019. “Even if the Centre fails to provide us necessary assistance, the state will achieve this target from its own limited resources,” he said.
Lambasting ‘pseudo-godmen’ for misleading people, particularly the downtrodden, he said, “If someone is born dwarf, they attribute this to misdeeds in his past life. Even if someone is born poor or belongs to the marginalized sections of society, they attribute this to his previous life. Who are they to comment on this?”
Thanking his mentor and predecessor Nitish Kumar, Manjhi said it was due to Kumar’s favour that he was residing at 1 Anne Marg, the official residence of Bihar chief minister.