Defiant Bihar Assembly Speaker Vijay Kumar Sinha bows to the majority, resigns ahead of Nitish Kumar-led govt floor test

New Delhi: Vijay Kumar Sinha has on Wednesday resigned from the post of the Bihar Assembly Speaker, minutes before the floor test of the Nitish Kumar-led Mahagathbandan government in the state.

Speaking in the Vidhan Sabha, Sinha said that Narendra Naryanan Yadav will take over the Chair and preside over the agenda set by the government.

Addressing the House on the No Confidence Motion against him, Sinha said: "I would like to tell you that your No Confidence Motion (against him - the Speaker) is unclear. Eight of the nine letters from the people, which were received, were not as per rule."

"The Chair is 'Panch Parmeshwar'. What message do you want to give by casting suspicions on the Chair? People will make a decision," he added.

On Tuesday, the Bihar Assembly secretariat, on the advice of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, changed the business schedule for the special two-day session to advance the no-trust motion against Sinha.

Defiant Bihar speaker Vijay Kumar Sinha bows to the majority

On Tuesday, Sinha had refused to step down from the post of Bihar Assembly Speaker.

Sinha, who is a senior leader of BJP, yesterday said: "I view the no-confidence motion as springing from a lack of trust, not in me, but the Chair itself. The notice of the motion received at the Vidhan Sabha secretariat has done away with rules, regulations and parliamentary niceties."

He further said that bound by his Chair, he felt it was incumbent upon him to reject such a notice. "Some baseless and personal allegations have been made in the notice against me. My style of functioning has been called undemocratic and dictatorial," he added.

Sinha further said that if he resigns, faced with "baseless charges", it only hurt his self-respect and also be tantamount to remaining a "mute spectator to the assault on the parliamentary system".

"Thus, I will oppose the no-confidence motion and not resign. I will say what I have to say inside the House without any fear or conflict," Sinha said.

Protest outside Bihar Assembly

Protests rocked the Bihar Assembly since today morning. CPI-ML MLAs congregated outside the House and demanded the resignation of Speaker Vijay Kumar Sinha.

"Conspiracy to scare us through raids won't work. It's a conspiracy to topple our Government. Our proposal for No-Confidence Motion against Speaker should be considered and discussed," news agency quoted CPI-ML lawmakers as saying.

BJP leaders also protested outside the Vidhan Sabha over hurt religious sentiments. They were carrying placards that read, "Disrespect to Hindu gods won't be tolerated".

The Bihar BJP has also taken objection to CM Nitish Kumar visiting a temple in Gaya that bars entry of non-Hindus with state minister Mohammed Israil Mansoori and has demanded an apology from Nitish for “hurting sentiments” of people from Hindu religion.

Meanwhile, JD(U) MLC Devesh Chandra Thakur on Wednesday filed nomination for the Chairmanship of Bihar Legislative Council.

CM Nitish Kumar, RJD leader Rabri Devi and others were present.

With inputs from agencies

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