The Chief Minister is the messiah of the poor, says Union Minister

Bihar Chief Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi, who is under attack from the Opposition and his own party, the JD(U), received a word of praise from Union Minister Uma Bharti who called him the “messiah of the poor.”

And Mr. Manjhi reciprocated the gesture, lauding Ms. Bharti for her “encouraging response” to the State’s perennial flood problem.

“Mr. Manjhi comes from a poor family, and he fully understands the pain of the poor… He is a messiah of the poor in true sense,” the BJP leader said after meeting Mr. Manjhi at his residence here.

Accompanied by top officials of her ministry, Ms. Bharti drove to Mr. Manjhi’s residence for the meeting, which was attended by Bihar Water Resources Minister Vijay Chaudhury.

“I’m overwhelmed by the positive response of the Union Minister to the problems of floods and droughts we face every year. She asked me why this problem was not addressed earlier,” Mr. Manjhi said.

Ms. Bharti is said to have assured the State government of effective steps to resolve the problem of floods caused by the rivers flowing from Nepal and Madhya Pradesh. Both leaders also discussed measures to keep the Ganga clean. The Centre released Rs. 500 crore for cleaning the river and would provide more funds as required, Ms. Bharti said.

She said Prime Minister Narendra Modi had made it clear that politics should not come in the way of the development of the States. “The PM has said one should talk about politics for six months before elections but for the rest of the period development should be the focus for both Centre and States”, added Ms. Bharti while addressing the media.

“The bonhomie indicates Mr. Manjhi’s political craft…he wishes to explore his options,” said a JD(U) leader close to the former Chief Minister, Nitish Kumar, who has fallen out with Mr. Manjhi.