Floor test: Vijay Kumar Sinha resigns as Bihar assembly speaker

PATNA: Vijay Kumar Sinha on Wednesday announced his resignation as the speaker of Bihar assembly ahead of the floor test in the House at 2pm.
He announced the resignation after an emotional speech in which he expressed anguish over the no-confidence motion moved against him by 'Mahagathbandhan' alliance government led by chief minister Nitish Kumar.

Sinha, who belongs to the BJP which now stands stripped of power in the state, left the House in turmoil as he adjourned proceedings till 2pm.
He made a hasty exit from the House, and MLAs of the BJP, almost all of whom were wearing saffron scarves and raising slogans like 'Bharat Mata Ki Jai' and 'Jai Shri Ram', followed suit.
Earlier, Sinha spoke for nearly 20 minutes, claiming that after the sudden change of government he wanted "to resign on my own" but decided otherwise after he learnt that a no-confidence motion had been moved.
"It had become incumbent upon me to respond to the motion. Some of the members moving the motion alleged that I had been undemocratic and dictatorial. This I cannot accept," said Sinha.
(With inputs from PTI)