Bihar: RJD leader Awadh Bihari Chaudhary removed as Speaker

The Bihar Assembly on Monday (Feb 12) passed a resolution for the removal of RJD leader Awadh Bihari Chaudhary as the Speaker of the House, ahead of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar-led NDA government's trust vote. Chaudhary, who had refused to step down despite his party losing power a fortnight ago, was removed with 125 members of the 243-strong assembly voting in favour of the no-confidence motion moved against him by the ruling NDA.

Only 112 members voted against the motion. Earlier, Deputy Speaker Maheshwar Hazari, who was in the Chair, had sought to declare the no-confidence motion as passed through voice vote, but agreed to a headcount following vociferous protests from the RJD.

A new Speaker is likely to be elected by the House after the completion of the government's trust vote.

The NDA, which includes JD(U), BJP, former chief minister Jitan Ram Manjhi’s Hindustani Awam Morcha and an Independent, has a combined strength of 128 MLAs in the 243-strong Assembly, six more than the majority mark.

The absence of a few MLAs at the JD(U) legislative party meeting on Sunday and a couple of legislators at the BJP’s two-day training workshop in Bodh Gaya, has provided cannon fodder to the 'Mahagathbandhan' which has been claiming that the NDA will fall short of 122 votes it must garner in order to remove the Speaker.

However, both JD(U) and the BJP have dismissed such misgivings, claiming all legislators will be present inside the House. However, leaving nothing to chance, the JD(U) put up many of its MLAs, after the legislative party meeting, at a city hotel.

Likewise, many BJP MLAs, upon return from the workshop, were asked to stay back at the residence of Vijay Kumar Sinha, who has taken over as a deputy chief minister.

Deputy CM warns of 'stern action'

The 'Mahagathbandhan' has a combined strength of 114 MLAs, eight short of the majority mark, but claims that while all its legislators were firmly intact, quite a few in the NDA camp were unhappy over the sudden change of tack by JD(U) and BJP and might turn the tables on the new government.

In a show of solidarity, notwithstanding the sudden loss of power, a number of legislators belonging to the 'Mahagathbandhan', which comprises RJD, Congress, CPI(ML), CPI and CPI(M), have been staying at the residence of the coalition’s leader Tejashwi Yadav, who lost the deputy CM’s post as a result of Kumar’s abrupt parting of ways.

Meanwhile, state BJP president Samrat Choudhary, who is also a deputy CM, has warned of “stern action” against any attempts at horse trading.

Nitish Kumar, who has been sworn in as the chief minister for a record ninth term, has also been closely monitoring the situation within the JD(U), having attended the legislative party meeting as also a luncheon held a day earlier which was seen as a warm-up exercise ahead of the crucial trust vote.

(With agency inputs)