Rabri Devi retains LoP post in Council on maiden day of winter session

Rabri Devi remains leader of the opposition in Bihar's legislative council, recognized by chairman Awadhesh Narayan Singh, alongside other key appointments.

Former chief minister and Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Rabri Devi will continue as leader of the opposition (LoP) in the state legislative council. Council chairman Awadhesh Narayan Singh on Wednesday recognised Rabri Devi as LoP on the recommendations of Tejashwi Prasad Yadav, who has been renamed LoP in the legislative assembly on its reconstitution.

Former Bihar CM Rabri Devi at Bihar Legislative Council in Patna, Wednesday (Santosh Kumar/HT)

Along with it, the council chairman also recognised senior RJD leader Abdul Bari Siddiqui as chief whip of the opposition parties in the upper House. The new order was announced by the council chairman in the upper House ahead of governor Arif Mohammad Khan’s address to the joint session of the state legislature.

The chairman also named Sanjeev Kumar Singh (of Janata Dal United), Nawal Kishore Yadav (BJP), Madan Mohan Jha (Congress) and Maheshwar Singh (Independent) as presiding members for the 211 session of the council. The four leaders will preside over the council proceedings in the absence of Awadhesh N Singh.

On the opening day of the council’s session, which started two days after commencement of the winter session of the legislative assembly owing to its reconstitution, the government tabled a couple of ordinances, pertaining to the amendments in Bihar Municipal Act and Bihar Contingency Fund, for their ratification. Rural works department minister Ashok Choudhary tabled the ordinances, while revenue and land reforms department minister Dilip Kumar Jaiswal tabled the details of 2nd supplementary demand to the annual budget for 2025-26.

Later, the council chairman led the House in mourning the deaths of senior political leaders, including former Bihar governor Satya Pal Malik, former Jharkhand CM Shibu Soren, former MLC Rana Gangeshwar Singh, former MLA Sri Chandra Singh, former MLA Harinandan Yadav and cine star-turned-politico Dharmendra, who departed in the last few months.