A day after the resignation of Jitan Ram Manjhi’s son Santosh Suman, the Nitish Kumar government is going to expand its cabinet on June 16. Ratnesh Sada, Janata Dal (United) MLA from Sonbarsa and a Dalit leader is likely to be inducted in the cabinet. The oath taking ceremony would be held at Raj Bhavan at 10:30 a.m. Apart from Mr. Sada, few more leaders may take the oath as ministers.
Three-time MLA from Sonbarsa in Saharsa district, Mr. Sada is likely to get the portfolio of Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe Welfare department which was being held by Mr. Suman. Sources confirmed that on Tuesday Mr. Sada received a call from Chief Minister Office (CMO) and Mr. Kumar spoke to him and asked to be in Patna.
Mr. Sada who was in his constituency rushed to Patna last night. However, he did not say anything when the media asked him about his name being considered for a post of a cabinet minister.
Mr. Sada belongs to the Musahar (rat eaters) community; even Mr. Suman was from the same community.
He is an MLA from Sonbarsa for three consecutive terms and is said to be in the good books of Mr. Kumar which has helped him to be the front runner in the cabinet expansion. His journey from being a rickshaw puller to now an MLA and now likely to be a minister has made him special. His simple nature and good oratory skills led him to achieve this position apart from hard work.
Mr. Sada started his political journey in the year 1987 and always worked for the upliftment of the Dalits. Presently he is the State President of JD(U) Maha Dalit Cell. In 2010, Ratnesh Sada became MLA for the first time on JD(U) ticket.
On Tuesday Mr. Suman resigned from the cabinet citing the reason that continuous pressure was being built to merge Hindustani Awam Morcha (Secular) in JD(U) so instead of merging the party, he thought of resigning.
Meanwhile Mr. Manjhi today announced to take a big decision on June 18 during the national working committee meeting of his party.
On the other hand, former Deputy Chief Minister and Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) Rajya Sabha member Sushil Kumar Modi said that the separation of Jitan Ram Manjhi from the Grand Alliance is a big jolt before the opposition meeting in Patna on June 23.
Mr. Modi said, “First the date of the meeting was postponed, then everyday one or the other big leader started distancing himself from it. Nitish Kumar had humiliated senior Dalit leader Manjhi and removed him from the post of Chief Minister after nine months and now pressure was being built for his party’s merger with JD(U). Any person with self-respect cannot live with Nitish Kumar. Manjhi being sidelined after RCP Singh and Upendra Kushwaha is not an ordinary event.”
He further said, “After the formation of the Grand Alliance government, not a single major party or leader joined it in the last nine months. KCR, Naveen Patnaik, Mayawati, H.D. Kumaraswamy and Jagan Mohan Reddy have already distanced themselves from Nitish Kumar’s opposition unity campaign. Now Omar Abdullah has also refused to attend the Patna meeting. When TMC goons are attacking Congress workers in the Panchayat Polls’ in West Bengal, then what unity will Nitish Kumar be able to bring between these two parties?”
