Union Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi has come out in defense of Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar amid fresh corruption allegations. Manjhi emphasized that corruption is a problem across India, but praised Nitish Kumar for his stance against corruption, saying, “At the very least, Nitish Kumar does not tolerate corruption in any form.”
Addressing reporters, Manjhi said, “Corruption happens all over the country. But Nitish Kumar’s government is different — he doesn’t tolerate any kind of corruption.” His comments were in response to sharp criticism from Tejashwi Yadav, a leader of the RJD, who accused the Bihar government of irregularities.
Tejashwi Yadav pointed to a recent incident where a government engineer was reportedly caught with Rs 100 crore in cash. He questioned how such large amounts could be involved in corruption and told the government to stop preaching about illegal practices while involved in such scandals.
Manjhi responded by saying that corruption should be addressed everywhere, not just used as a political weapon. He warned against targeting individuals and emphasized that corruption is a widespread issue, not specific to Bihar or any single leader.
In addition to these political comments, Manjhi also spoke about Rahul Gandhi’s controversial statement concerning a “hydrogen bomb” during his Voter Adhikar Yatra in Patna. Manjhi joked, “What happened after the atomic bomb was dropped? Not even an ant died. The same will happen with this so-called hydrogen bomb,” dismissing Gandhi’s remarks as exaggerated.
He further assured that the voter list is being cleaned up to remove fake and duplicate names. “Names of dead voters are being removed, and new legitimate voters are being added. We are making sure outsiders don’t influence Bihar’s politics,” he said.
This ongoing political debate highlights the tension between different parties in Bihar as they tackle issues of corruption, electoral integrity, and leadership standards.
