A minister in India's Bihar state government Cabinet Santosh Suman resigned on Tuesday, claiming “pressure” to merge his Hindustani Awam Morcha (HAM) with state chief Nitish Kumar's Janata Dal United (JD-U).
Suman, the national president of HAM, had been serving as the minister for scheduled castes and scheduled tribes welfare.
Talking to the reporters, Suman said: “I have sent my resignation to the state chief and personally met Vijay Kumar Chaudhary (senior JD(U) politician and minister) to explain my point. I hope my resignation will be accepted”.
He, however, clarified that the party is not pulling out of the Mahagathbandhan (Grand Alliance).
“It is for the State Chief to decide whether we be kept in the Mahagathbandhan or expelled. We will decide accordingly. But in view of the JD(U)'s proposal, I had to take a decision to save my party from extinction. Hence, I resigned”, Suman said.
Meanwhile, the opposition party in the state, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), took a dig at Bihar state chief Nitish Kumar’s effort to unite opposition parties as it claim that this will act as a dampener for him.
Kumar will host a mega meet of 15 opposition parties in Bihar on June 23. The meet will be attended by top leaders of the opposition parties including Rahul Gandhi, Mamata Banerjee, Sharad Pawar, Arvind Kejriwal, and others.
Talking to the reporters about the political development in the state, BJP national spokesperson Syed Shahnawaz Hussain said: “The resignation of Jitan Ram Manjhi's son is proof of the chasm that exists in the Mahagathbandhan. The alliance has been rejected by the people and it will become evident in the Lok Sabha polls (parliamentary elections) next year and culminate in the defeat of the Mahagathbandhan in the assembly elections a year later”.
However, Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) spokesperson Mrityunjay Tiwari, whose party helms the grand alliance, said: "Jitan Ram Manjhi has been known for his pressure tactics and prevarications. Though our government will not be affected by this decision, this is a move they will regret."
“At the Mahagathbandhan rally in Purnea earlier this year, State Chief Nitish Kumar had spoken of the BJP's attempts to beguile Manjhi”, Tiwari said, adding that it seems he has fallen into the trap and claims of pressure for merger by JD(U) have no real basis.