Bihar’s Sonbarsa MLA and JD(U) leader Ratnesh Sada was sworn in as minister at Raj Bhavan in Patna on Friday. The 52-year-old Dalit leader replaced Hindustani Awam Morcha- Secular (HAM-S) president Santosh Kumar Suman, who resigned on June 13 as the state's minority welfare minister.
Sada takes a dig at Jitan Ram Manjhi
Notably, Sada, who was away in his constituency in Saharsa district, was asked to come to Patna by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar soon after Suman announced his resignation. He has also charged Jitan Ram Manjhi with "paying lip service to Dalits, especially Musahar community despite being a minister in several governments since 1980s besides a brief tenure as the CM".
It is widely believed that by propping up Sada, who hails from the populous north Bihar, the JD(U) seeks to neutralise the damage Manjhi could inflict, especially if he returned to the BJP-led NDA. Sada won the Sonbarsha constituency on JD(U) ticket in the 2020 state Legislative Assembly election.
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What Santosh Kumar Suman post his resignation?
In an exclusive interview with India TV, Santosh Kumar Suman accused CM 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, he said, "...the existence of my party was under threat, I did this to protect it..," said 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 added.
(With inputs from agencies)
