PATNA : Chief minister Jitan Ram Manjhi Sunday raked up a controversy alleging that a temple in Madhubani was washed after he left because he was a Dalit.
Manjhi said he had gone to the temple last month while he was campaigning for the bypolls for the 10 Assembly seats. He claimed at a function that mines and geology minister Ram Lakhan Ram Raman - who was also present on the dais - had told him about the cleansing of the temple. But Raman later denied having passing on any such information to the chief minister.
Addressing the event organised to mark the birth anniversary of former chief minister and Dalit icon Bhola Paswan Sastri, Manjhi said: “The people who washed the temple after my visit touch my feet when they have some work to be done through me. But see their mentality. Is it a crime to be born in a Dalit family?”
When the chief minister made the allegation, Raman remained silent. But later he told The Telegraph: “Maybe, the incident has happened.

But I do not know about it and cannot recall when I informed the chief minister about the incident. Perhaps, the chief minister made a mix-up.”
According to sources, chief minister Manjhi was referring to his visit to the Rajnagar reserved seat in Madhubani district on August 18, when the campaigning for the bypolls was going on. “The chief minister had visited the Parmeshwaristhan temple in the Andhrathari block then to pray,” recalled a JDU leader.
Raman had won the Rajnagar Assembly seat on an RJD ticket in 2010. But he switched to the JDU during the last Lok Sabha polls. He was made an MLC and a minister in the Manjhi government later. His resignation from the RJD prompted the bypoll but the party retained the seat.
The chief minister’s statement caused a flutter in political and social circles. Former IPS officer and the administrator of the state religious trust board, Kishore Kunal, declared that he had not received complaint about the episode.
Political observers interpreted Manjhi’s statement as a bid to project himself as the Dalit leader of Bihar.