PTI file photo
PATNA: Union minister and HAM (Secular) founder Jitan Ram Manjhi Sunday threatened to quit the Union Cabinet and the NDA if a Rajya Sabha seat was not allotted to his party, reports Manoj Chaurasia. Manjhi, minister for MSMEs in the Modi govt at the Centre, was addressing a party function in Gaya. “We should be spared one RS berth as promised during the 2024 Lok Sabha elections,” Manjhi said, claiming that HAM (S) was promised two LS seats and one RS by ally BJP during the 2024 parliamentary polls but given only one LS seat, which he won. “I thank the PM for giving me a place in the union cabinet, but our RS seat is still due,” he said.”Last night, I was watching news on TV channels which suggested that of the five seats falling vacant in April next year, two will go to BJP, two to JD(U) and one to LJP (Ram Vilas), but where does HAM(S) stand?” he asked. “If our demand is not fulfilled, I will quit the cabinet and will follow a separate path.” Advising his son Santosh Kumar Suman, a minister in the Nitish Kumar-led Bihar govt, Manjhi urged him to “take a risk in politics” and not lose heart.
