The Bihar Assembly has been witnessing ruckus for the last few days and it is none other than the chief minister himself who has given fodder to the opposition this time. While the opposition parties have been up in arms against CM Nitish Kumar demanding an apology and clarification, the House suffered repeated adjournments over an episode involving the Chief Minister’s outburst against Bihar Assembly Speaker Vijay Kumar Sinha, who happens to be a leader of JD(U) ally BJP. Opposition leaders have deplored the ‘body language’ of CM Nitish Kumar who spoke in an admonitory tone, waving an angry finger at the Speaker. Ruckus created by them had similarly paralysed the House.
Why did CM Kumar have a heated exchange with the Speaker?
On Monday, the Bihar assembly witnessed a rare situation where the leaders of the ruling alliance were pitched against each other. A heated exchange took place between CM Kumar and Speaker Sinha on the issue whether a matter being probed by the government, which has also been referred to the privilege committee, could be raised on the floor of the House time and again. Kumar, who is often seen as calm and composed, expressed his angst when the Speaker asked cabinet minister Bijendra Yadav to apprise the House of the steps taken in an incident involving police action in Lakhisarai. This was the second time that the Speaker asked Yadav for an update on the matter. Lakhisarai happens to be Sinha’s assembly constituency.
The Speaker excused himself from the Chair on Tuesday after apparently being miffed over the slight at the hands of the Chief Minister. However, the Speaker and the Chief Minister met late Tuesday night in an attempt at reconciliation. The Speaker joined the House on Wednesday. Seeking to leave the matter behind, the Speaker said that the ‘kaala adhyay’ (dark chapter) be closed and forgotten. A BJP leader himself, the Speaker had closed his speech with a few verses from late Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s poem ‘kadam milakar chalna hoga’ (we shall march together).
What is the Lakhisarai controversy all about?
The controversy started after some people close to the BJP allegedly violated the liquor prohibition law in Lakhisarai during the Saraswati Puja celebrations last month. Sinha alleged that ‘mere spectators’ were rounded up, organisers of the event who are said to be close to JD(U) national president Rajiv Ranjan Singh alias Lalan Singh had been allowed to go scot-free. On Monday, an MLA had raised a query inside the House as to whether there have been any ‘kurki-jabti’ (attachment of property) of the organisers, in accordance with the provisions of the prohibition law. Minister Bijendra Yadav, a JD(U) leader, replied that ‘investigations were on’.