No Prez rule: Manjhi, Don't take decisions with financial

Bihar Chief Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi, who has been asked to seek a trust vote on Friday, today said he had no intention to recommend President's rule even as his government was directed by Patna High Court not to take any decision that has financial implications.
The assertion by the beleaguered chief minister came even as senior JD(U) leader Nitish Kumar, who is making a bid to regain the chief ministership, accused BJP of "clandestinely" helping Manjhi to finish him politically and asked the saffron party to come in open support of the incumbent.
Claiming that he will win the trust vote, Manjhi alleged that Nitish's camp was trying to "frighten MLAs" by spreading rumours that he was "conspiring" with BJP to have President's Rule imposed in Bihar and accused his rival of parading "bogus" MLAs.

Manjhi, who was expelled by the JD(U) after he refused to resign, said it was for BJP to decide if it wanted to support him or not and that he had met Union ministers and Bihar Governor in Delhi for official work.
He said JD(U) and Kumar, who has staked claim to form the government in Bihar, were spreading rumours that President's Rule will be imposed in Bihar to win over MLAs and said he had no such intentions.
"They are frightening MLAs with rumour that I am working for imposing the President's Rule in Bihar. It's completely untrue. If I had wished so, I would have recommended it long back. I will win trust vote on February 20," Manjhi told reporters in Delhi. He said he has urged every party to support him.

Asked about Kumar's claims that he had support of 130 MLAs, whom he had paraded when he went to meet Governor Kesari Nath Tripathi and President Pranab Mukherjee, Manjhi shot back, "Many of these MLAs were bogus." He has been asked by the Governor to seek a trust vote on the floor of the House on Friday.

JD(U) yesterday alleged that Manjhi was working at BJP's behest and wanted imposition of President's Rule.
Hearing a PIL filed by JD(U) legislator Niraj Kumar, the Patna High Court directed Manjhi government not to take any decision which has financial implications and to do only routine work.

The direction was given by a division bench comprising Justice Iqbal Ahmad Ansari and Justice Samrendra Pratap Singh.
"Respondents should not take any decision having financial implications except for routine matter," the bench ordered, fixing February 19 as the next date of hearing.
Kumar told reporters in Patna that instead of clandestinely helping Manjhi, BJP should announce open support to him.
The new leader of JD(U) Legislature Party alleged that it was BJP's "game plan" to trigger chaos in Bihar by propping up a minority government of dissidents led by Manjhi.
He alleged that BJP was trying to engineer violence during trust vote on February 20 to prepare the ground for imposition of President's rule.