Sushil Modi slams Bihar CM over purification issue

The controversy over alleged purification of a temple in Bihar's Madhubani district after Chief Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi's visit, raged on today with former feputy chief minister Sushil Kumar Modi slamming Manjhi for keeping mum on the issue for two months. "It is suprising that Manjhi kept quiet on the alleged temple purification incident for months... he should have taken action against whosoever responsible for it immediately after," Modi told reporters on the sidelines of 'Janata Durbar' at his official residence here.

More than Chief Minister's silence, doubts have surfaced over authenticity of the incident with Manjhi and his Minister Ramlakhan Ram making contradictory statements, he said. Under the circumstances, it will be in the fitness of things that either the Chief Minister sack his ministerial colleague for countering his claim, Modi said. And otherwise, if Manjhi himself was telling lies then a case should be filed against him under section 153(A) (promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race, place of birth, residence, language, etc), the former deputy chief minister said.

Sushil Modi also flayed the Chief Minister for making various announcements on the issue of development of Bihar and welfare of the people despite the fact that he had only a year left in office. "Manjhi keeps making one announcement after another knowing that he is not going to complete these projects nor will he be allowed to do anything worthwhile by his predecessor Nitish Kumar who has cast a vice-like grip over his successor and remote controls him," he said.

Modi also reminded Nitish Kumar of a letter written to him seeking clarification on the latter's role in the alleged medicine purchase scam by the Bihar Medical Services and Infrastructure Corporation Ltd (BMSICL) and said that if the former chief minister failed to reply by October 10 next, it will be deemed that the charges of his involvement in the said scam was true.