Nitish Kumar apologizes, hopes to prove majority on floor
After Jitan Ram Manjhi resigned on Friday instead of proving his claims of support on the floor of the House, Nitish Kumar said: "I apologise for my mistake."
He said he will never take such emotional decisions again and "will always take the wishes of the people into consideration."
He said he is committed to the development of Bihar.
He said he should be allowed by Governor KN Tripathi to prove his majority on the floor of the house.
Earlier, capitulating in his battle against Nitish Kumar, Jitan Ram Manjhi resigned as the Chief Minister of Bihar, ahead of seeking a crucial vote of confidence in the state assembly, alleging that he stepped down because of death threats to him and his supporters in the assembly.
He met Governor KN Tripathi in the morning and put in his papers.
He said he had to resign because of threats and alleged that he was not allowed to work independently while a secret ballot would have still proved his majority.
He said many MLAs loyal to him were threatened while he himself also faced threat. "There were threats over mobile phone," he said.
He alleged horse trading by the Nitish Kumar side and said he was victimized because he is a Mahadalit.
"I had not freedom to act on appointments or anything. I know the media was writing that I was being remote-controlled. So my own self-respect was awakened," he told journalists after resigning and slamming former chief minister Nitish Kumar.
Demanding fresh election, he said the Bihar speaker did not follow the rules. He said he enjoys support of 140 MLAs.
The pro-Nitish Kumar MLAs of Janata Dal-United (JD-U), which had expelled Manjhi for revolting against it, were jubilant as they heard the news of Manjhi resigning.
The opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) had lent their support to Manjhi and had geared up to back him on the floor to keep Nitish Kumar away.
Nitish Kumar said the gameplan of the BJP was exposed with the resignation.
Manjhi would have needed 117 votes to remain the chief minister, said reports.
Nitish Kumar, reports said, enjoys the support of 128 MLAs to return as the Chief Minister.
Nitish Kumar is backed by Congress and RJD too.
Manjhi was named as Bihar CM on May 17, 2014 after Nitish resigned following the party's electoral drubbing in the last Lok Sabha polls.
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