Patna : Taking a serious note of Bihar Chief Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi’s controversial remarks in the past few days, ruling JD_U’s national leadership Thursday asked him to avoid making such comments.
“We have requested Manjhi to avoid to make any controversial statement that harm party image and society,” JD-U general secretary K.C. Tyagi told the media here.
Tyagi, JD-U Rajya Sabha MP and considered close to former chief minister Nitish Kumar, who virtually controls the party, has made it clear that JD-U leadership has given last chance to Manjhi over such comments.
“JD-U president Sharad Yadav has also told him not to make controversial remarks any more and avoid speaking anything that creates unnecessary controversy,” Tyagi said.
Tyagi said that several JD-U leaders and workers, who met him during Nitish Kumar’s ongoing Sampark Yatra in different districts of Bihar, told him that they were not comfortable with Manjhi’s contradictory and controversial remarks.
“JD-U leaders and workers are uncomfortable with Manjhi’s controversial remarks, he should take this in view and stop making such statements,” he said.
Tyagi said that party is of view that Manjhi should not give opportunity to media to play with his controversial remarks that send bad signal and massage.
“Manjhi was chosen by party to take Nitish Kumar’s roadmap of development of Bihar forward…But instead of doing that Manjhi seems more interested in rewriting history. Manjhi should fulfill his duty and responsibility as chief minister,” Tyagi said.
Interestingly, it is not first time that party has asked Manjhi to keep away from controversy, and expressed its displeasure with him. Last week also, party had directed him not to make controversial remarks. But Manjhi has ignored it and made several such remarks over the past week.
Within JD-U, several senior leaders including ministers were embarrassed by Manjhi, who had made series of controversial remarks that also sparked protest against him.
A recent remark that the upper-caste people were foreigners, and scheduled caste and scheduled tribe people were indigenous had already put party in trouble as several of its legislators, belonging to upper castes, demanded his removal.
Another controversial statement of Manjhi was about wives of migrant workers. “Everyone knows what women do when their husbands stay outside the state for years after marriage.”
His other controversial utterances are: ‘Didn’t protect Dalit family for vote bank’;’nothing wrong in consuming alcohol after eating dinner’; ‘I will turn Narendra Modi supporter if Bihar gets special status.’