Anybody can have a girlfriend, says Bihar CM

Bihar Chief Minister and Janata Dal (United) leader Jitan Ram Manjhi, who has come under attack over reports of his son being involved in an alleged sexual escapade with a woman police officer, on Saturday defended him saying that anybody could have a “girlfriend”.

“Anybody can have a girlfriend...there is no evidence of any wrongdoing against my son,” he told reporters when asked about the incident involving his son.

“CCTV footage of the hotel does not show any wrongdoing,” he added.

When asked about the BJP’s reaction on the issue, Manjhi accused the opposition of hatching a “political conspiracy” against a CM who hails from the Mahadalit community.

Senior BJP leader Sushil Kumar Modi had said in a Facebook post that the chief minister was defending his son in the case by not getting an FIR registered in the incident.

Kumar Modi, also former deputy chief minister, used the issue to attack former chief minister Nitish Kumar and said, “While all these things are happening in JD(U) rule, he is watching trailer of ‘Jungle Raj II’ silently.”

Taking potshots at Nitish Kumar, the BJP has been describing JD(U) joining hands with the RJD as return of the bad days, terming it “Jungle Raj II”.

According to reports from Gaya, the chief minister’s son, accompanied by a woman police officer of Bihar Military Police (BMP), allegedly used his father's position to ask a hotel for a deluxe suite on Thursday.

Irked by the demand, the hotel employees in Gaya locked the two inside the suite and raised an alarm. The boy was released after coughing up cash, the reports said.