Nitish Kumar Is Working Under Pressure, Says Jitan Ram Manjhi

Patna: Former Bihar chief minister Jitan Ram Manjhi today claimed that Chief Minister Nitish Kumar is working under someone's pressure and thus "failed" to deliver especially on law and order front in the state.

"Nitish Kumar is under pressure and hence he would not be able to do anything (on taking action)," the Hindustani Awam Morcha (Secular) president said while referring to cases with regard to RJD leaders Raj Ballabh Yadav, Shahabuddin and others.

"Nitish Kumar ran a good government during 2005-13 but suddenly what happened that things are slipping out of his control. With so much vast experience of running the administration, he would have fared much better, but he is proving to be a 'Nakara' (non-performer)," Mr Manjhi told reporters in Patna.

Refusing to name the person under whose pressure Mr Kumar is working, he said that "everyone knows it."

Mr Manjhi, who was accompanied by senior party leader Vrishin Patel and spokesman Danish Rizwan, charged that incidents of crime were taking place in the state under the protection of 'Mahagathbandhan' government.

Till now, people use to hear the incidents of murders, rapes, kidnappings, bank dacoities, but now media were being targeted.

In Siwan, senior journalist Rajdeo Ranjan was killed while another journalist threatened in Biharsharif, he said adding that the state government had been a failure in protecting the fourth pillar of democracy.

It is an appropriate time to impose President's Rule in Bihar and if that was not done, it would be a big injustice to the people of the state, he said.

On the ongoing war of words between two allies JD(U) and RJD, he termed it as the internal matter of the alliance but was quick to add that "we had said during Bihar Assembly polls that unethical and unholy alliance was made on mutual interest and this is becoming true today."

Mr Manjhi came down heavily on Mr Kumar for allegedly violating the rights of SC people and said for this a case should be lodged against Mr Kumar under relevant sections of SC and ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, he said.