Patna,(BiharTimes): The president of the Bihar unit of the Janata Dal (United), Bashistha Narain Singh, said on Saturday that Nitish Kumar is the supreme leader of the party while Jitan Ram Manjhi is only the chief minister of Bihar.

Talking to the media Singh tried to defend Manjhi for some of his recent remarks by saying that sometimes, he gives his own independent views and he was not speaking against the party.

The state JD(U) chief said the party has not invited the CM and his ministers to join the Yatra. But they are welcome to join it if they get get time from their government works. He said that Nitish would meet party workers during his two-week-long Yatra, which would start from West Champaran on November 13 and end in Patna on November 29. 

Reports, however, said that Nitish might involve a couple of ministers of Manjhi cabinet, like Vijay Chaudhary and Bijendra Prasad Yadav, in his Yatra. 

He said it would be a purely political programme and the main purpose is to activate the party workers at grassroots level in different districts. 

Nitish will meet party workers at Bettiah and Motihari on November 13. He is expected to address JD (U) leaders of the two districts. 

This would be the first yatra of Nitish Kumar after he resigned from his post as the chief minister a day after the BJP won the Lok Sabha election.