Bihar speaker, Grand Alliance lock horns ahead of special session

Speaker Vijay Kumar Sinha said he will neither resign despite a no-confidence motion moved by legislators of the ruling alliance nor allow the notice for his removal to be taken up before the government moves its trust motion

A day ahead of Bihar legislative assembly’s two-day special session called to prove the new government’s majority, Speaker Vijay Kumar Sinha on Tuesday said he will neither resign despite a no-confidence motion moved by legislators of the ruling alliance nor allow the notice for his removal to be taken up before the government moves its trust motion, a move that is likely to raise a storm in the House.

At least 50 legislators of the Grand Alliance shot off a no-confidence notice on speaker Vijay Kumar Sinha soon after Nitish Kumar stepped down as the chief minister of the NDA government on August 9. (PTI)

“The notice received in the assembly secretariat seems to have ignored rules, provisions and parliamentary decorum. Being in the chair, it is my natural responsibility to reject such a notice, which has some baseless and unfortunate allegations against me,” Sinha told reporters in the assembly. “Some members have described my working style as undemocratic and dictatorial and against the democratic decency, without substantiating.”

Sinha, a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) legislator who has been the speaker for 20 months, said resigning in such circumstances would not only be against his self-respect, but also make him “vulnerable” to attacks for keeping quiet despite criticism of parliamentary traditions. “Therefore, I reject the notice of no-confidence against me and will not resign,” he said. “I will present my views on the floor without any fear or favour. I cannot bow to any pressure.”

Sinha, however, said that being in the chair and bound by rules and highest tradition of the office he holds, he would not speak on whatever happened in the state in the last few weeks.

While Sinha said there was a provision to take up the government motion first, however, in a late night development, the agenda for the first day’s business was changed. In the revised agenda, the House will take up the notice for speaker’s removal first after his opening address and then chief minister Nitish Kumar will seek trust vote. It means a new speaker will be in chair for the trust vote.

When HT contacted the speaker after the assembly secretariat uploaded the changed agenda, Sinha said he has no information regarding the same as he had signed only the first one.

Earlier in the day, deputy speaker Maheshwar Hazari, who is from chief minister Nitish Kumar’s Janata Dal (United), said that in view of the no-confidence motion against the speaker, Sinha should not take the chair and allow the new speaker to preside over the House.

“He should have resigned in keeping with the highest traditions of parliamentary decency. The notice was served and as per rules, the session has been convened 14 days after that,” said Hazari. “Democracy is a game of numbers and when he has lost the trust of the House, he should not continue. How can he reject the notice? It is sheer stubbornness.”

He also cited example of Nitish Kumar, who “had quit as railway minister after an accident”.

Rashtriya Janata Dal legislator Shakti Singh Yadav echoed similar views as the deputy speaker. “The speaker should have himself resigned in keeping with the dignity of the chair,” he said.

JD(U) MLA and former speaker Vijay Kumar Choudhary, who is now the state’s parliamentary affairs minister, said as per the laid down procedure, the notice of no-confidence against the speaker should be the first agenda on the day the House convenes.

“The speaker himself cannot preside over the House when the no-confidence motion is taken up. In his absence, deputy speaker will preside,” he said.” As per rules and procedures & conduct of business, the agenda for a particular date must be finalised by the secretary of the Vidhan Sabha on the direction of the leader of the House (CM), which has been communicated today with speaker’s removal first in the list. It is the most important business to facilitate confidence vote.”

“How can he preside when the majority of the House does not have confidence in him?” he asked.

Constitutional expert Subhash Kashyap said there is a provision to give the government motion priority, as the notice against the speaker would be a move by private members.

“It is called the notice for removal of speaker. The speaker himself cannot decide on it. If there are anomalies in the notice, the secretariat itself could return it,” said Kashyap. “During the debate on the notice for removal of the speaker, the nature of which I am not aware of, the deputy speaker or anyone from the panel of chairpersons could preside.”

As per a list of agenda for Wednesday, issued by the assembly secretariat, the House session will commence with the speaker’s address, followed by tabling of reports by various committees after which the new government will seek a trust vote. The fourth item is the deliberation over notice for the removal of the speaker.

In a sudden turn of events in Bihar, chief minister Nitish Kumar’s JD(U) snapped ties with the BJP on August 9 and joined hands with the RJD, Congress and other parties to form a new government the next day. The ruling Mahagathbandhan or Grand Alliance, comprising seven parties, has the support of 164 members in the 243-member House against the BJP’s 77.

At least 50 legislators of the Grand Alliance shot off a no-confidence notice on speaker Sinha soon after Nitish Kumar stepped down as the chief minister of the NDA government on August 9.

“The notice signed by more than 50 MLAs was sent through an email on August 9 and a hard copy of the same was submitted to the assembly secretariat a day later,” said JD(U) leader Vijay Kumar Chaudhary.

The development came soon after the speaker had hurriedly convened a meeting of the five-member ethics committee, headed by BJP MLA Ram Narayan Mandal on August 9, and got a fresh report submitted on the ruckus in the assembly during the enactment of the Special Armed Police Act in March last year.

“We got suspicious about the motive of the speaker as he refused to go by the convention to resign from the post. He called an urgent meeting of the ethics committee and got a fresh report, which could lead to disqualification of several members of the RJD, Congress and Left parties on the charges of indulging in violence in the assembly in March 2021,” said a former state minister and JD(U) leader, requesting anonymity.

The RJD has already made up its mind on senior party leader Awadh Bihari Choudhary as Sinha’s successor, according to party functionaries.