Bihar: Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Friday revealed why Dr Santosh Kumar Suman, son of Jitan Ram Manjhi resigned from his cabinet in the state. In a major blow to JDU, Suman, son of Hindustani Awam Morcha (Secular) chief Jitan Ram Manjhi earlier on June 13 tendered his resignation as Minority Welfare minister in Nitish-led Bihar Cabinet. While interacting with reporters, Kumar said that earlier he had asked Jitan Ram Manjhi and his Suman to either merge their party with JDU or separate. So, they decided to separate, he added.
Kumar on Suman's resignation
"I resigned and made him (Jitan Ram Manjhi) the CM, everyone knows what he says now. Everyone knew that he was meeting BJP people and then used to come to us also. When I asked them (Jitan Ram Manjhi and Santosh Kumar Suman) to either merge their party with us or separate, so they decided to separate," said Bihar CM Nitish.
Suman had accused Kumar of pressuring his father
Earlier, in an exclusive interview with India TV, Santosh Kumar Suman had accused Chief Minister Nitish Kumar of pressuring his father to merge Hindustani Awam Morcha (HAM) with the JD(U). "We were being forced to merge with the JD (U)," he said.
On being questioned, if his party will attend the Opposition party meeting in Patna on June 23"...the existence of my party was under threat, I did this to protect it..," said Santosh Kumar Suman after resigning as a Bihar minister.
"When we were not even invited, when we were not even recognised as a party, how would we have been invited?," he said.
Manjhi demanded at least five seats for his HAM
Former Bihar chief minister Jitan Ram Manjhi had demanded at least five seats for his HAM, a junior partner in the state's ruling 'Mahagathbandhan', in next year's Lok Sabha polls. Santosh Kumar Suman, who is the national president of the HAM had also last week said that the party will not agree to an offer of less than five of 40 Lok Sabha seats in Bihar.
HAM is a regional party in Bihar which was founded by Jitan Ram Manjhi in 2015 and has a total of 4 seats in the Bihar Legislative Assembly.
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