RJD lays condition for naming MLAs for Bihar house panels, logjam persists

RJD’s hardening of stance comes after Bihar Assembly Speaker Vijay Kumar Sinha sent a reminder to Tejashwi Yadav asking him to recommend names of party MLAs for various house committees.

The setting up of various committees in the newly constituted Bihar Assembly has taken a new twist with the leader of the opposition, Tejashwi Prasad Yadav, asking the Speaker to reveal the names of committees in which RJD leaders will either be included or made chairman of, before his party recommends names of MLAs for the positions.

The move comes a day after Speaker Vijay Kumar Sinha sent a reminder to Yadav asking him to recommend names of party MLAs for various house committees, which have not been set up yet.

There are a total of 22 legislative committees in the Assembly, which are proportionally represented by both ruling and opposition parties depending upon their strength in the lower house.

In a letter to the Speaker, Tejashwi said it has been a precedence that parties are informed about house committees by the Assembly secretariat and subsequently the names of party MLAs are recommended based on seniority, legislative experience and geographical location of their constituencies, for wider and appropriate representation.

“There has been a telephonic talk between my office and (the) Speaker’s office on sending the names of committees, where the party’s leaders would be given chairmanship. But so far, the names of the committees have not been sent to us,” the RJD leader said in a letter, which was issued to the press by the party.

“The RJD requests that the names of committees be sent so that recommendations of party MLAs for such committees as representatives and heads could be sent,” the Yadav scion said.

Political observers said that the RJD’s move to put conditions before sending names for the formation of various committees indicates it may not be in any mood to allow the panels to be set up by consensus, as has been the tradition.

The RJD could be resorting to pressure politics to ensure party’s senior leaders get chairmanship in key legislative committees, they said.