Patna (Bihar):

Union Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi on Saturday took a pot-shot on Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and said that when his party (Hindustani Awam Morcha) separated in 2015, he raised doubts about how he would run the party without any funds.

He also emphasised that now his party is not only functioning but is running at great speed.

“I want to thank Nitish Kumar ji, when we separated in 2001 and formed the party he raised doubts- ‘Jitan Manjhi se party chalegi? Na paisa hain na kuch’. How will he run the party? Today, I can say with pride that our party is not only functioning but is running at great speed. And you people are behind this, that is why I congratulate you too,” Mr Manjhi said.

Jitan Ram Manjhi, in 2015, parted ways with the Janata Dal (United) along with 18 others and formed his own party, Hindustani Awam Morcha, during the 2015 Bihar political crisis.

In the current political scenario, HAM is a part of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) in the centre and Bihar. The party’s head, Jitan Ram Manjhi is a Minister in Prime Minister Modi’s cabinet.

Earlier, amid the opposition attack on Nitish Kumar over a series of bridge collapses in Bihar, Mr Manjhi defended the latter, saying that the unusually heavy monsoon rains were the primary cause of the incidents.

“It is monsoon time. There has been an abnormal amount of rain, which is the reason behind the collapse of bridges. But the Chief Minister of the state is very sensitive towards the investigation,” Mr Manjhi told reporters.

Five bridges in Araria, Siwan, East Champaran, Kishanganj, and Madhubani districts collapsed across the state in June last month.

The first in the series was the bridge collapse in Araria on June 18.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Patna:

While JD-U leaders continue to demand special status for Bihar, Union MSME Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi asserted that the NITI Aayog has clearly ruled out the provision for any state, but noted the state’s financial needs will be met.

“The NITI Aayog has clearly denied special status to any state in the country. People from different political parties can do anything, but special status will not be given to any state,” he said while interacting with media persons in Hajipur.

He added that the Central government has assured financial assistance to Bihar. “Whatever amount of money is needed for development, the central government and PM Narendra Modi will provide it,” Jitan Ram Manjhi said.

Since the formation of the NDA government at the Centre, JD-U leaders have been advocating for special status for Bihar and Water Resource Minister Vijay Kumar Chaudhary and Building Construction Minister Ashok Choudhary have been vocal in their demands.

Meanwhile, opposition leaders like RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav and Congress leader Meira Kumar have mocked the JD-U for seeking special status from the BJP despite being part of the NDA government.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Union Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi is seeing a “conspiracy” in back-to-back bridge collapse incidents in Bihar. “Why have bridges started to collapse only after the Lok Sabha elections?” he wondered as he spoke to reporters in Gaya.

“Why were such incidents not taking place 15 or 30 days before? Why have bridges started to collapse only after the Lok Sabha elections? Why are they collapsing now? Is there any conspiracy to defame the state government?” the minister said.

Five bridges – in Araria, Siwan, East Champaran, Kishanganj, and Madhubani districts – have collapsed across the state in the last nine days.

On Friday, an under-construction bridge collapsed in Bihar’s Madhubani region. The 75-meter bridge was being built by the Rural Works Department of the Bihar government since 2021.

The Minister of Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSME) also said that those involved in “wrongdoings” would be penalised.

“The state and central governments are closely monitoring such incidents. Those contractors or engineers involved in wrongdoings will be penalised,” he said.

Mr Manjhi also blamed “sub-standard material used by the contractors” for the incidents: “It is happening because of the sub-standard material being used by contractors. The state government is taking action against such contractors. The state authorities are probing the matter as well. I also request them to probe the conspiracy angle.”

The state government is receiving a lot of flak from the opposition because of the frequent bridge collapses. Leader of the Opposition in the Bihar Assembly, Tejashwi Yadav, on Saturday mocked the Nitish Kumar government and said, “Due to the double power of the double-engine government in Bihar, only 5 bridges have collapsed in just 9 days.”

The Madhubani incident came just a day after another bridge fell in Kishanganj district.

The third incident of bridge collapse was in the Ghodasahan block of East Champaran on June 23.

On June 22, the bridge built on the canal connecting Daraunda and Maharajganj blocks in Siwan collapsed. Earlier, a bridge worth Rs 12 crore on the Bakra river in the Sikti block of Araria district collapsed on June 18.

Patna:

Former Bihar Chief Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi will be the NDA’s candidate from the reserved Gaya Lok Sabha seat, his Hindustani Awam Morcha announced on Thursday.

According to a release issued by the party’s central office at Gaya, the candidature of Mr Manjhi was approved by his son and state minister Santosh Suman, who is the national president of the party founded by his father.

Notably, the NDA had earlier this week announced its seat-sharing formula in Bihar, where the BJP has got the lion’s share of 17 seats, followed by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s JD(U) which will contest 16.

Chirag Paswan’s Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) has been given five seats while Mr Manjhi’s party has got Gaya and Karakat has been assigned to former Union minister Upendra Kushwaha’s Rashtriya Lok Morcha.

Mr Manjhi is the MLA from Imamganj which is in Gaya district but falls under Aurangabad Lok Sabha constituency.

Just a few months shy of 80, the veteran leader had of late been showing reluctance to fight a direct election and expressing the wish that he be considered for a Rajya Sabha berth or a gubernatorial assignment.

His candidature was announced on a day the opposition RJD gave away tickets for all four seats, including Gaya, where polls are scheduled in the first phase.

Former minister Kumar Sarvajeet, the 49-year-old sitting MLA from Bodh Gaya and son of late Gaya MP Rajesh Kumar, has been given the party ticket for the Lok Sabha seat by RJD president Lalu Prasad.

While it will be Sarvajeet’s maiden parliamentary election, Mr Manjhi has been trying his luck from Gaya since 2014 when he was the JD(U) candidate but finished third.

In 2019, he fought on his own party’s symbol but lost to the JD(U) winner by a margin of more than 1.5 lakh votes.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)