NEW DELHI, Nov 25: The RJD-Led “Mahagathbandhan,” which had narrowly missed majority in the elections, on Wednesday lost the battle for the post of the speaker of the Bihar Assembly which went to the ruling National Democratic Alliance candidate Vijay Kumar Sinha (BJP).
Sinha got 126 votes while 114 members opposed him in the 243-strong Assembly. Altogether 240 members participated in the voting process amidst ruckus created by the opposition who demanded “secret voting” but was rejected by the protem speaker, the former chief minister Jitan Ram Majhi.
Sinha, a four-time BJP MLA from Lakhisarai Assembly constituency in Munger district, was opposed by Mahagathbandhan nominee for the post Awadh Bihari Chaudhury, the six-time RJD MLA from Siwan.
The trouble started in the House as the opposition members protested against the presence of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar during the voting as he is not a member of the House.
“Why should the Chief Minister who is not a member of the House be present when election process is on through voice vote,” shouted Opposition legislators and rushed to well of the House.
Amid the Opposition’s protest, Majhi adjourned the House for five minutes before the poll.
The Opposition leaders demanded that the election for the Speaker’s post be done through secret vote.
Rejecting the demand, Majhi said there was no constitutional provision for secret voting for Speaker’s post. “There will be no secret voting in the House. “In this very House, we have seen Lalu Yadav ji attend proceedings when he was a member of Lok Sabha and Rabri Devi ji was CM… There will be no secret voting,” Majhi said. He also added: “Those from other House aren’t voting for Speaker election. No problem in their presence.”
On Tuesday, senior State BJP leader Sushil Kumar Modi alleged that RJD chief Lalu Prasad had called up some NDA leaders and offered them ministerial berths to induce them to vote for Mr. Chaudhury.
“Lalu Yadav making telephone call (8*********2) from Ranchi to NDA MLAs & promising ministerial berths. When I telephoned, Lalu directly picked up. I said don’t do these dirty tricks from jail, you will not succeed,” Mr. Modi tweeted.
Mr. Modi was recently made chairman of the Ethics Committee of the State Legislative Council.
This is the first time a BJP legislator occupied the Speaker’s post in the Bihar Assembly. Since 2005 polls, a JD(U) member has always occupied the Speaker’s chair during the NDA rule in the state.
(Manas Dasgupta)