Law Kumar Mishra
Patna, March 24
Even as Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Wednesday backed the police action inside legislative assembly and refused to apologise, the main opposition party announced to boycott the proceedings for the entire term of the incumbent Vidhan Sabha.
The incumbent Seventeenth Vidhan Sabha of Bihar was constituted on November 23, 2020 and its entire five years term had been left. If the RJD-led opposition stuck to the announcement of boycotting the House for the remaining term, the Nitish Kumar government would have no opponent in the temple of democracy.
Speaking in the Bihar Legislative Council here during the passage of the Bihar Special Armed Police Bill, Nitish said the opposition had held the Speaker hostage yesterday and did not allow the House to have its normal business. Nitish refused to apologise for the police action and denied initiating any action against the officers who had “beaten” the opposition legislators saying it was within the authority of the Speaker only.
Asserting that the opposition members had resorted to Goondaism, the Chief Minister said the government would brief the media about the provisions in the proposed legislation.
The Bill was passed in Vidhan Parishad today. During the day proceedings were disturbed as the members of the treasury and opposition benches clashed over the Bill contents. JDU’s Sanjay Singh entered the well of the House to challenge the opposition members who were shouting slogans against the chief minister.
Meanwhile, Leader of Opposition Tejashwi Prasad Yadav announced the RJD members would not enter the House till the expiry of the entire five years term in protest against the police ‘brutalities” on the opposition members. He demanded immediate suspension of the district magistrate and senior SP of Patna who led attacks on the opposition legislators.
Ramchandra Purvey of RJD regretted police action on the legislators and said an unhealthy precedent has been set by calling the police inside the House where assembly Marshals are competent to deal with the problems.
Entire opposition including RJD and CPI(ML) MLAs organised a shadow assembly on the lawns of the legislature complex and elected Bhudeo Chaudhury, a former minister as their Speaker. They resolved to boycott the House for the entire term.
Seven Bills were passed without debate in absence of the opposition members. A former minister and JDU MLA, Maheshwar Hazari was declared elected deputy speaker unopposed.
Patna police filed FIRs against 15 RJD leaders including Tejashwi and Tejpratap, state RJD President Jagdanand Singh for yesterday’s violence during the protest march to the state assembly. The FIRs filed at Kotwali and Gandhi Maidan police station makes 3,000 unidentified RJD workers as accused.
