Patna: Refusing to show its cards, BJP on Tuesday said it would decide on survival of the Jitan Ram Manjhi government during the trust vote on February 20.
"Two days are left, the party will decide its stand on Manjhi trust vote on February 20 on the floor of the Assembly," senior BJP leader Sushil Kumar Modi said. Modi, who returned to Patna on Tuesday after meeting party's central leadership in Delhi, said he apprised BJP president Amit Shah about the situation in Bihar.
The BJP has called a meeting of its legislature party on February 18 and 19 to take "ground-level feedback" on the issue of support to the Chief Minister from legislators and apprise the central leadership. "Any decision on support to Manjhi will be taken after that," Modi said.
Support of 87 BJP MLAs is crucial for Manjhi to achieve the magic figure of 117 and pass the floor test. The BJP leader said his party was against change of government "every six months as it was not good for the development of the state".
On the Patna High Court's order restraining Manjhi till February 19 from taking policy decision having financial implications, Modi said neither Manjhi nor Nitish Kumar should make big announcements till the Assembly elections Modi also took on former Chief Minister and senior JD(U) leader Nitish Kumar over his allegations of partisanship by Bihar Governor Keshari Nath Tripathi on confidence vote. "Kumar is continuously harping that the Governor has given a long time to Manjhi to prove his majority, but he has forgotten that he was given 7 days by the then Bihar Governor Vinod Chandra Pandey in 2000 to prove his majority," he said.
The BJP leader also hit out at Kumar for raising questions about which government's speech will the Governor read during inauguration of the Assembly budget session. "Kumar should remember it better. On March 10, 2000, the then Governor read his speech despite the fact that he was yet to prove majority. Kumar later resigned when he saw that he will not pass the floor test," Modi, who was with Nitish Kumar at that time said.
"When the present Governor is repeating the same tradition, Kumar is alleging that he is being discriminated against. This is double standard," he said.
The saffron leader accused Kumar of throwing Bihar into political instability and making it an object of ridicule across the country due to his lust for power.
"Manjhi was playing a 20-20 cricket match, batting furiously and hitting big shots continuously. Kumar was not getting a chance to play and Manjhi was moving towards becoming Man of the Match. So the captain (Kumar) ordered him back from the crease itself," Modi said in cricketing parlance.
He also charged Kumar with going back on his promise to the Mahadalit Chief Minister. "Manjhi was made CM till polls later this year and Kumar had said he will return to the chair if given mandate in the state elections. But he (Kumar) started making efforts to cut short his 14-month tenure and remove Manjhi in just eight months," Modi said.
The BJP leader said Kumar wants to go to the polls as the CM, so that in the current political scenario with RJD as an ally, he can stake claims to the post after the elections.
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