Jitan Ram Manjhi resigns as Bihar chief minister

Relic Reporter, Patna:

Jitan Ram Manjhi resigned as the Bihar chief minister hours before the floor test on Friday and recommended the dissolution of the Bihar Assembly .

 Jitan Ram Manjhi

On Thursday, Speaker Uday Narain Choudhary accepted former chief minister Nitish Kumar's demand that Janata Dal (United) (JD-U) be given the status of the main opposition party with the BJP deciding to support Manjhi during the confidence vote.

Earlier, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) legislators created a ruckus and protested in the Bihar assembly complex against the decision to appoint the JD-U leader as the leader of opposition.

Manjhi, after being expelled from the JD-U Feb 9, has been declared as an unattached member in the assembly. He was expelled for allegedly "indulging in anti-party activities". But he has refused to resign and has to prove his majority in the house Friday.