New Delhi: Accusing Nitish Kumat of being power hungry, the beleaguered JItan Ram Manjhi today asserted that he is still very much the Chief Minister of Bihar.
“As on today, I'm still very much the Chief Minister of Bihar unless JD(U) decides otherwise,” Manjhi told reporters during a press conference in Delhi.
Targeting former Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, Manjhi said that he is a power hungry person and is now desperate to grab power.
“Nitish can't live without power. Now he is desperate to grab power. Nitish made me the Chief Minister hoping that I will be a rubber-stamp CM. When media started portraying me as a rubber-stamp, my self-respect asked me to start taking independent decision. When I started doing that, there was pain in the stomach of Nitish Kumar,” added Manjhi.
READ ALSO: Bihar Assembly Speaker recognises Nitish as new JD (U) LP leader
When asked about his majority in Assembly, Manjhi said that he will seek the vote of confidence in the Assembly on February 20.
Manjhi said that he was open to take support from any party in the Assembly.
"On the floor of the house, I will take support from whoever is ready to support me. There is no problem in taking someone's support," said Manjhi.
Talking about his meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi,Manjhi said that they discussed the issue of Ganga water which runs around 400 km in the state.
"I Spoke to PM Modi about Ganga water. It is a big concern for us," said Manjhi.
Manjhi, who was here to attend the first meeting of the NITI Aayog which replaces the Planning Commission, had a nearly 40-minute meeting with Modi.
"I did not discuss politics with him," Manjhi said at a press conference after the meeting.
"Modiji has done some good work for Bihar and we thanked him for that," he said.
READ ALSO: JD(U), allies give letters of support to governor's office backing Nitish as CM
Meanwhile, the crisis in Bihar's ruling JD-U deepened further Sunday with Chief Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi meeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi today and his rival camp led by Nitish Kumar deciding to parade legislators at the Raj Bhavan Monday to stake claim to power.
Janata Dal-United Bihar president Vashsisht Narain Singh said that his party would form a new government in the state under Nitish Kumar's leadership with the backing of the Congress and Lalu Prasad's Rashtriya Janata Dal.
"We will parade 130 MLAs, including those of the Congress and RJD, before the governor Monday," he said.
The JD-U has 115 legislators in the 243-member assembly, most of whom are reportedly with Nitish Kumar.
READ ALSO: In troubled waters, Bihar CM says ‘Manjhi's boat never sinks'
It is backed by 24 legislators of the RJD, five of the Congress, one from the CPI and two independents, making it a total of 147 -- more than the 122 needed for a simple majority.
Manjhi enjoys the support of over a dozen JD-U legislators. He is banking on the support of the BJP, which has openly come out in his favour. The BJP has 88 legislators and it supported by three independents.
Earlier, the JD-U submitted letters of support to Governor Keshri Nath Tripathi staking claim to form the government, one day after Nitish Kumar was re-elected as the legislature party leader.
Singh said RJD's Abdul Bari Siddiqui and Congress' Sadanand Singh also submitted letters of support for Nitish Kumar to the governor.
"We have staked claim to form the next government," Sadanand Singh told the media. "There is a list of over 130 legislators out of the 243 in support of Nitish Kumar."
Sadanand Singh said the governor should invite Nitish Kumar to form the government. "Any delay to invite Nitish Kumar will encourage horse-trading."
Tripathi is currently in Kolkata as he is also the West Bengal governor. He is likely to arrive here late Sunday or Monday, officials said.
Meanwhile, JD-U leader launched fierce attacks on Manjhi, accusing him of playing into the hands of the BJP to harm the party ahead of assembly elections later this year.
"The BJP is behind whatever Manjhi is doing," JD-U national general secretary K.C. Tyagi said.
Added Vashsisht Narain Singh: "The BJP is taking advantage of Manjhi's lust for power."
Manjhi has refused to resign despite requests from Nitish Kumar and the JD-U to make way for the return of Nitish Kumar.
