Bihar assembly passes no-confidence motion against Speaker ahead of trust vote

Bihar assembly on Monday passed the no-confidence motion against Bihar Assembly Speaker and Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Awadh Bihari Choudhary ahead of the floor test of the Nitish Kumar government to prove its majority

Bihar assembly on Monday passed the no-confidence motion against Bihar Assembly Speaker and Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Awadh Bihari Choudhary ahead of the floor test of Nitish Kumar government to prove its majority. During the no-confidence motion, 125 members voted in favour of the resolution brought by the ruling alliance and 112 against.

RJD MLAs Chetan Anand, Neelam Devi and Prahlad Yadav were seen sitting on the treasury benches in the Bihar Assembly causing a jolt to the Opposition. Reacting to this, former Bihar Deputy Chief Minister and RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav said "MLAs should sit on their respective seats till the end of voting, otherwise voting will be considered invalid."

Ahead of the trust vote, parties shifted MLAs to "secure locations" within and outside the state. BJP leader Shahnawaz Hussain said the government will prove its majority.

"Under the leadership of Nitish Kumar, the JDU-NDA government will prove its majority on the floor. Our numbers are going to increase. Nothing will happen no matter what the opposition does. Jungle Raj will not return to Bihar," he said. RJD leader Mrityunjay Tiwari said all MLAs have resolved to save Bihar.

"Truth cannot be defeated, In a few hours, everything will be known. Democracy will triumph. All the MLAs have made a resolution to save Bihar and its future and for that, the present government needs to be removed from power," he said. RJD MLA Bhai Virendra claimed they will be ahead in the floor test. "Yes, we have (majority mark). I have all the numbers...We will be ahead in the floor test..."

The trust vote has been necessitated as Nitish Kumar took oath as the chief minister of Bihar for the record ninth time last month after junking his alliance with the RJD and again forming a government with the BJP. Nitish Kumar had reportedly gone into a sulk after not being named the convenor of INDIA, the Opposition bloc that took shape through his efforts. He resigned as chief minister on January 28, his second volte face in less than 18 months.

The JD(U) has 45 MLAs in the House of 243 while its partners, the BJP and the Hindustani Awam Morcha-Secular (HAM-S), have 79 and four legislators respectively. The NDA has the support of 128 MLAs and the majority mark in the state assembly is 122. (ANI)

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