Patna, Mar 5 (PTI) The Bihar Legislative Council on Wednesday restored the membership of senior RJD leader Sunil Kumar Singh, whose disqualification was recently quashed by the Supreme Court.
Reading a notification to the effect on the floor of the House, Chairman Awadhesh Narain Singh said, “We expect Dr Sunil Kumar Singh to be mindful of his conduct henceforth”.
Singh, who was not present in the Vidhan Parishad, had been expelled in July last year upon the recommendation of the Ethics Committee which indicted him for misbehaving with Chief Minister Nitish Kumar inside the House.
However, on February 25 this year, the apex court ruled that his disqualification, by way of punishment, was “excessive and disproportionate to the nature of the misconduct”.
The announcement of Singh’s reinstatement as an MLC was met with thumping of desks by the opposition.
Former Chief Minister Rabri Devi, who is the leader of the opposition in the Upper House, rose to thank the Chair.
“Many thanks to the honourable Chairman for reinstating Sunil Singh, the restoration of whose membership has been ordered by the Supreme Court,” she said.
The moment of delight seemed to diminish political hostilities, even if temporarily.
Rabri Devi turned towards BJP MLC Dilip Jaiswal, saying, “He calls me Didi (elder sister). I also consider him as a brother. I want to congratulate him on becoming the party’s state president”.
Jaiswal, who was made the state unit chief a year ago, recently gave up his cabinet berth citing the BJP’s policy of “one person, one post”.
He got re-elected to the party post on Tuesday, at the BJP state executive meeting here which was attended, among others, by Union minister Manohar Lal Khattar.
The Council Chairman jokingly asked Rabri Devi: “If you consider Dilip Jaiswal your brother, then what becomes of his relationship with your husband (Lalu Prasad, ex-CM and RJD president)”.
In Hindi, as well as all dialects spoken in Bihar, the brother of one’s wife is called “saala”, a word used commonly, both as an endearment as well as an invective.
The joke was not lost on the members of the House which reverberated with peals of laughter.
Some members teased Rabri Devi to offer sweets to Dilip Jaiswal if she was really happy with his success.
She retorted: “It is he who has become the party president. So it is he who should be offering sweets to us.” PTI NAC NN
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