Bihar Chief Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi on Friday hit back at his mentor-turned-foe Nitish Kumar, saying he will not resign.
“Nitish has committed a big mistake. He should not think that I am a puppet. I will not resign as chief minister,” Manjhi told reporters.
“I will quit only if you prove me wrong,” he added.
Manjhi’s reaction came shortly after state Governor Keshari Nath Tripathi advised Nitish not to make political statements out of desperation.
The Governor made the remarks a day after the former CM accused Governor of acting at the behest of the BJP government at the Centre.
Kumar made the statement after the Governor on Wednesday asked Manjhi to prove majority on the floor of the Assembly on February 20.
The developments came even as the JD(U), in a terse message to the seven ruling party legislators who have sided with Manjhi and continued to remain ministers in his minority government, asked them to quit immediately and return to the party-fold.