Bihar polls: Jitan Ram Manjhi presents parallel report card of his nine month-tenure

PATNA: Hindustani Awam Morcha leader Jitan Ram Manjhi today termed the report card of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's ten-year rule in Bihar as "fraud and eyewash" and presented a parallel report card on the nine months he was in power.

"Nitish Kumar should have omitted works done for welfare of poor during my time as well of NDA when BJP was in alliance with JD(U)," Manjhi told reporters barely two hours after the chief minister presented his report card.

Manjhi, who was flanked by leaders who had been ministers during his chief ministership, slammed his former mentor saying "All claims about development based on a jungle of data are false."

Manjhi, now an ally of BJP, claimed that though his tenure as a chief minister was of nine months, he got only 12 days to work independently.

He had become chief minister on May 20, 2014 and Nitish Kumar re-assumed the post on February 22 this year.

"During this brief period of 12 days, the policy decisions taken by my government could have ensured all round development of Dalit and Mahadalit community as well as all sections of the society," claimed Manjhi, whose report card listed 44 policy decisions taken by his government.

It included one month's additional salary to policemen upto inspector rank, increasing honorarium of home guards from Rs 300 to Rs 400 daily, reservation to SC/ST, backward, most backward and women in government contract of upto Rs 25 lakh and approval to pension scheme for journalists.

His ministry had also proposed to increase maternity leave for women employees to 180 from 135 at present and 35 per cent reservation for women in government services.

In addition, Manjhi's report card gave details of work done in different parts of the state during his tenure.

It included creation of traffic police stations at Muzaffarpur, recruitment of Urdu teachers and giving state status to Pitripaksh fair in Gaya.

The subsequent government of Nitish Kumar had annulled the decisions taken by Manjhi cabinet on the ground that it did not follow laid out rules.