No hesitation in taking support from anyone: Jitan Ram Manjhi

Bihar Chief Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi maintained that he will continue to retain the top post till the legislative council in the state assembly decides otherwise, adding that he will take the support of anyone who supports him on the floor.

"I am the Chief Minister and will remain till the legislative party of the Janata Dal (United) decides otherwise. Decisions taken on the street have no constitutional validity and if such a decision is not taken in the state assembly, I will step down... [But] I will have no hesitation in taking support from whoever gives it to me on the floor," Manjhi said, speaking at the Bihar Niwas in the national capital.

"They [the JD (U)] must have thought that by making me the chief minister, they were making a rubber stamp chief minister and would do whatever they wanted. When I started working on my own initiative, they got cold feet and have been trying to remove me since," he added.

Speaking of his meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the latter's official 7, Race Course Road residence, Manjhi stated that the issues discussed were to do with development issues in Bihar and were not politically driven.

"One of the directives of the NITI Aayog is the Swachh Bharat Andolan and cleanliness. Speaking on that issue, I said that cleanliness is a matter that is directly connected to the poor: If they do not maintain cleanliness, they fall ill, spend money on medicines and thus are not able to progress," he said.

"On meeting the Prime Minister separately, he told me that my words had impacted him. I raised the issue of a barrage being built in the Ganga, sharing my concerns over the fact that if such a step is taken, Bihar would not be able to use river water for irrigation. I suggested that the Ganga is de-silted instead," he added.

Earlier in the day, Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) chief and Union Minister Ram Vilas Paswan had pledged his support for Manjhi, speculating that the BJP might hold a meeting with regards to the crisis.

Meanwhile, Bihar Assembly Speaker Uday Narayan Chaudhary recognised former CM Nitish Kumar as the JD (U) legislature party leader, a day after he was elected to the post in Patna.

Nitish is expected to stake claim to form a new government in the state later in the day.

A delegation of leaders of the JD (U) and its allies have also reportedly submitted letters of support to the Governor's office, stating that Nitish has support of 130 MLAs.

On Saturday evening, Manjhi called a meeting of the state cabinet, which authorised the Chief Minister to recommend the dissolution of Bihar Assembly. But this move was strongly opposed by 20 ministers loyal to former CM Nitish Kumar.

Manjhi claimed he is authorised to take a decision on dissolution of the assembly, writing to the Bihar Governor and requesting him to not accept the recommendations made by the JD (U) legislature party meeting headed by Sharad Yadav.

Manjhi has also urged the Governor to remove 15 ministers from their posts with immediate effect.

Adding a new twist to the entire controversy, 20 ministers on Saturday night sent their resignation to the Governor in support of Nitish Kumar.