Bihar political drama: Speaker refuses to step down, set for showdown before trust vote | India News

PATNA: In a new twist to the Bihar political drama, Assembly Speaker Awadh Bihari Chaudhary against whom the governing NDA moved a no-confidence motion said on Wednesday that he won’t resign from his post before the commencement of the budget session on February 12 when the Nitish Kumar government is scheduled to seek a trust vote—a kind of move inviting bitter reactions from his deputy Maheshwar Hazari.Chaudhary belongs to the RJD headed by Lalu Prasad while Hazari comes from Nitish-led JD(U).
The ruling coalition lawmakers had promptly served a no-confidence notice to the Speaker moments the NDA government was formed in the state on January 28, but Chaudhary now claims he came to know about such notice against him only on Wednesday. He said he would chair the House proceedings as per the rules.
“Why?” the Speaker shot back when asked by the media persons if he would resign from his post since a no-confidence motion had been moved against him, and added, “I will be in the assembly on February 12 and conduct proceedings of the House as per rules.”
“As per rules, the Speaker should take a decision within 14 days of the receipt of notice for no confidence motion. The same has been received by me only today,” Chaudhary told the media in the corridor of state assembly after holding a meeting of Press advisory committee.
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Samvidhan ke tahat vidhan sabha karya sanchalan niyamavali bani hui hai. Usse ham na dayen na bayen ja sakte hain. Wahi hamare liye rasta dikhlata hai

(There are rules for conducting business of the Legislative Assembly under the Constitution. We must strictly follow the rules. They show us the path),” he observed.
The NDA, which enjoys a slender majority, is wary of the floor test now with the Speaker from the main opposition RJD refusing to resin. While the NDA claims the support of 128 legislators, the Grand Alliance enjoys the support of 115 MLAs.
Chaudhary’s remarks drew bitter comments from his deputy Hazari who suggested him to step down on moral grounds, respecting the dignity of the post he holds. “He (Speaker) must resign on moral grounds now that the new government has been formed and it enjoys majority in the House with the support of 128 members,” Hazari told reporters on Wednesday. He said the new government would comfortably sail through during the trust vote.
The entire problem arose after Nitish walked out of the Grand Alliance to form his new government with the support of NDA on January 28—the third such development since November 2020.
Prior to him, former Speaker and BJP leader Vijay Kumar Sinha too had refused to resign in August 2022 when Chief Minister Nitish Kumar quit the NDA to form his new government with the support of Grand Alliance. Sinha, however, announced his resignation on the floor of the House, avoiding the no confidence vote. He is now the deputy CM in the new NDA government.