Patna: NDA legislators asked to remain in House during business hours

PATNA: The ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA) legislators have been asked to remain present in their respective legislative Houses during the entire business hours of the ongoing monsoon session and ensure smooth passage of different bills to be tabled by the state government in the current session.
Bihar legislature’s five-day monsoon session began on Monday. The state government has planned to table at least six Bills. Three of them are related to establishment of three new universities in the state.
Addressing a crucial meeting of the NDA legislators convened on Monday to discuss the floor management strategies for the monsoon session, senior NDA leaders reminded them of the ruling alliance’s thin majority in the legislative assembly and said it would be difficult for the government to get its bills passed smoothly if even a few of them skip the proceedings.
The NDA in Bihar has four constituents — BJP, JD(U), HAM(S) and VIP. Its current strength in the assembly is 125, just four more than the majority mark of 121, as two seats in the 243-member assembly are currently vacant following the death of two MLAs.
Of the 125 NDA MLAs, 74 are from the BJP and 43 from JD(U) while Ham(S) and VIP have 4 MLAs each. Independent MLA Sumit Kumar Singh is also part of the government. However, the 4 VIP MLAs and its chief Mukesh Sahani, MLC, didn’t attend the meeting held at the assembly’s central hall. CM Nitish Kumar, deputy CM Tarkishore Prasad, parliamentary affairs minister Vijay Kumar Choudhary, HAM(S) chief Jitan Ram Manjhi and some other senior leaders of the BJP and JD(U) addressed the meeting.
Some of the NDA MLAs, sources said, also voiced their protest over leader of opposition Tejashwi Prasad Yadav’s demand that CM Nitish Kumar should tender an apology for alleged assault on the opposition’s MLAs in the assembly during the budget session on March 23.
“Any happening inside the assembly comes under the jurisdiction of the Vidhan Sabha Speaker, who is already looking into the matter. The CM should not tender an apology in this matter, at any cost. Instead, the Speaker should take necessary action against the opposition MLAs, who created bedlam in the House during the budget session,” the NDA MLAs argued.
The CM asked the legislators to keep an eye on the ongoing development works in their areas and report to appropriate authorities if they found any discrepancies in the execution of the government schemes.