With the Shibu Soren-led UPA government moving a trust vote in Jharkhand Assembly, Speaker Alamgir Alam had to adjourn the House for 15 minutes after the BJP demanded that he take up pending disqualification petitions against some members, including ministers, on Friday.
The House was adjourned briefly after BJP members squatted on the floor raising slogans when Alam rejected BJP MLA Saryu Roy's demand that the house should decide the fate of the members facing disqualification petitions since 2005.
The BJP's demand came after the Speaker on Thursday night restrained two suspended BJP MLAs Vishnu Bhaiya and Manohar Tekriwal from participating in the voting.
The Speaker said the decision was taken after Leader of the Opposition Arjun Munda on August 27 submitted a petition demanding freezing of voting right of Bhaiya and Tekriwal as there was a possibility of cross-voting by them.
On the demand against others facing anti-defection charges, the Speaker said those were court matters and should not be raised in the house.
With Bhaiya and Tekriwal restrained from voting, a total of 78 members in the 81-member House (excluding the Speaker) can vote during the floor test.
{{/usCountry}}With Bhaiya and Tekriwal restrained from voting, a total of 78 members in the 81-member House (excluding the Speaker) can vote during the floor test.
{{/usCountry}}Soren requires the support of 40 MLAs to notch up a win in the trust vote.
With the lone CPI MLA, Ramchandra Ram, yesterday deciding to vote in favour of the UPA, Soren has now the support of 42 MLAs (excluding the Speaker).
The trust vote will be taken up in the afternoon session after the conclusion of a debate on the motion.