Deities washed after temple visit, claims Bihar CM Jitan Ram Manjhi

Bihar Chief Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi on Sunday stunned a gathering when he said that deities were washed after he visited a temple in North Bihar recently.

Manjhi was making an oblique reference to the mindset of the people which has not changed since ages and a Dalit like him was even today treated like an outcast.

“Recently, I was told that after I visited a temple in Madhubani, the idols were washed and the temple premises cleansed soon after I left the place. This reflects the age-old biased mindset of upper caste people which has not changed over the years even though a Dalit may be at the helm of affairs in Bihar,” lamented Manjhi, while speaking at the birth centenary celebrations of former chief minister and Dalit leader Bhola Paswan Shastri, in the state capital here. 

Manjhi quoted colleague Ram Lakhan Ram Raman to buttress his point. Ram, however, neither confirmed nor denied the incident.  But another Dalit leader Chirag Paswan, the Lok Janshakti Party MP and son of Union minister Ram Vilas Paswan, made a scathing attack on Manjhi for trying to encash the incident.

“First, this kind of incident should not have taken place. But even if it has occurred, the chief minister should refrain from encashing such incidents,” said Chirag.