President Ram Nath Kovind to visit Bihar for Assembly centenary function

Earlier this month, Bihar Speaker Vijay Kumar Sinha personally invited President Kovind for the centenary function, which is being held on October 21, following President’s consent for participation post Durga Puja festivities

President Ram Nath Kovind will visit Patna on October 20 to participate in the celebration to mark the centenary year of the Bihar Legislative Assembly building which hosted the inaugural session of the joint Bihar and Orissa Provincial Council on February 7, 1921.

Bihar Legislative Assembly building is an iconic structure designed by AN Millwood and was called the Council Chamber in the beginning. (HT Photo)

Earlier this month, Bihar Speaker Vijay Kumar Sinha personally invited President Kovind for the centenary function, which is being held on October 21, following President’s consent. Sinha, on Friday, discussed the preparation for Kovind’s programme with chief minister (CM) Nitish Kumar. The President will stay at the Raj Bhawan in Patna and attend the cultural programme and dinner hosted by Sinha.

The Speaker also met with deputy CMs Tarkishore Prasad and Renu Devi, parliamentary affairs minister Vijay Kumar Choudhary, to discuss the preparations for the celebration.

The Bihar Legislative Assembly building is an iconic structure designed by AN Millwood and was called the Council Chamber in the beginning. The inaugural session of Bihar and Orissa Provincial Council was held in this building on February 7, 1921 under the presidency of Sir Walter Maude and addressed by then governor Lord SP Sinha.

The centenary year celebration of Bihar Legislative Assembly building began on February 7 at the Central Hall but was restricted to a single day due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

The present-day legislature has its genesis in the December 12, 1911 decision of British emperor George V regarding the creation of a separate province combining Bihar and Orissa, with Patna as its headquarters, and it was notified on March 22, 1912. Later, an independent building and secretariat for the Provincial Legislative Council was built in 1920.

In 2013, the Bihar government celebrated the centenary of the first meeting of Bihar and Orissa Provincial Legislative Council, which was held on January 20, 1913 at the seminar hall of the historic Patna College.