About three months after becoming CM, Manjhi claimed that he had once paid a bribe to bring down an “inflated” electricity bill. Since then, he has averaged about one 'irresponsible and flippant’ statement every 10 days, leading finally to his party serving him on Thursday a last warning to ‘mind his tongue’. Santosh Singh recaps. Satbhaiyon ko Bihar nahin aane doonga agar woh Bihar mein kuchh nahin karenge (Will not allow the seven union ministers from Bihar to enter the state if they do not do something for it) Thokar khate khate CM ban gaye. Thokar mein kahin PM na ban jayein. Hum Mahadalit toh thokar hi khaate rahte hain. (In course of struggle, I became CM, who knows I may even become PM some day. We Mahadalits are used to constant struggle) NOV 19, At World Toilet Day function in Patna; spoke on social discrimination, stressed Dalit empowerment If Bihar is given special status, I will back Narendra Modi even if no one else does. NOV 15, At Kanti, Muzaffarpur, where he shared the dais with union minister Piyush Goyal Upper-caste people are foreigners and descendants of the Aryans. NOV 11, At Betiah, West Champaran, stressing that STs and SCs must get their due Jaisa ki aap sab log jaante hain, main ab kuchh dinon ka mukhyamantri hoon. Lekin jab tak CM hoon, dil ki baat bolunga. (As you all are aware, I am now CM only for a few days. But as long as I am CM, I will speak my mind) NOV 6, After five ministers “boycotted” his function to “signal Nitish Kumar’s unhappiness” with him at appointing his son-in-law as his personal secretary Though I am chief minister now, I am afraid of taking tough decisions for fear of scrutiny and criticism. If you get demoralised, it hampers your decision-making powers. OCT 26, At Gaya; talks with Sharad Yadav and Nitish Kumar followed We (Dalits) are around 17 % of the state’s population. If you give up drinking and become more politically aware, you can be in a position to choose a Dalit CM because of your sheer numbers. OCT 22, At Gaya, underlining the strength of Dalits Agar garibon ke ilaaj ke saath khilwaad hua, main haath kaat doonga, Jitan par koi sitam ho. Log kehte hain main buddhoo hoon (If there is any negligence in the treatment of the poor, I will chop off hands [of doctors]. I am ready for any punishment [for sake of the poor]. People call me a fool.) OCT 17, In East Champaran In my opinion, the age of marriage should be raised to 25 to deal with child malnutrition effectively. I got married at 25 and are fit even now. I don’t take many medicines. OCT 13, At his Janta Durbar, recommending the ancient Indian system of ashrams A temple in Madhubani was cleaned soon after I visited it. SEPT 28, Claimed in Patna 40 days after alleged incident; his cabinet colleague Nitish Mishra denied the temple had been cleaned. I would like to advise Scheduled Caste youths to go for more and more inter-caste marriages. If we take our population from 15 per cent to 22 per cent, we will become a political force. Any party that gets 22 per cent votes comes to power. What I am saying has political significance. AUG 21, In Gaya, giving tips to Dalit youths on social and political empowerment It is true that a lot of development work was done under Nitishji’s rule. But corruption could not be brought down. Even I had to pay a bribe to bring down an inflated electricity bill from Rs 25,000 to Rs 5,000. AUG 12, Addressing trainee officers
