Patna, Nov. 25: Within 10 hours of assuming charge, chief minister Nitish Kumar asked one of his cabinet ministers, Jitan Ram Manjhi, to resign because his name figured in a fake degree scandal that had surfaced during the tenure of the RJD government.

A journalist had drawn Nitish’s attention to the “tainted” politician soon after the new chief minister promised that no such person would be inducted into his ministry.

Nitish said today Manjhi has submitted his resignation. Manjhi said he was implicated in the case because he was opposed to Lalu Prasad.