Patna: A controversy that had been simmering since early last month boiled over in the Bihar legislative assembly Monday, with Bihar Chief Minister and JD(U) leader Nitish Kumar castigating Speaker Vijay Kumar Sinha of the BJP for his “unconstitutional” conduct. Sinha, on his part, snapped back and told the CM to not “demoralise the chair”.
The spat between the two leaders has its origins in a Saraswati Puja function held on 5 February in Munger district’s Lakhisarai — Sinha’s assembly constituency. A large crowd had gathered for the cultural programme, leading to the police arriving on the scene and arresting two alleged associates of Sinha for breaking Covid protocols.
The Speaker had at the time called the local deputy superintendent of police (DSP) and asked him to release the men, claiming that they were spectators and that the police should have arrested the organisers of the show instead. The DSP is believed to have refused to oblige.
The Speaker had then escalated the matter to the director general of police (DGP) and other senior officials. Since then, an investigation into the alleged wrongful arrests has ensued, but there hasn’t been much movement. Meanwhile, the issue of the “insult” to the Speaker has become a heated talking point of BJP MLAs as well as the Opposition.
Since the month-long Budget session started in the last week of February, the matter has been raised at least three times and has also been referred to the privilege committee of the assembly.
RJD leader and Leader of the Opposition Tejashwi Yadav said last week: “If the Speaker can be treated so shabbily by the government, imagine what sort of treatment an ordinary MLA gets.”
Sources close to the Speaker told ThePrint that they believe the 5 February arrests were politically motivated. The police officers, they alleged, were influenced by their proximity to Munger JD(U) MP Lallan Singh, who is believed to be in a tussle with Sinha for political supremacy in the district, especially among the Bhumihar community.
A JD(U) MLC who did not wish to be identified refuted the allegations about the arrests being linked to Lallan Singh and said he “did not have anything to do with this episode”.
In Bihar, Monday’s heated exchange is being seen as the latest evidence that the alliance between NDA partners JD(U) and BJP is far from harmonious.
Also Read: Why Nitish’s JD(U) and BJP are compelled to stay in ‘unhappy marriage’, despite public sniping
War of words
The Monday uproar was triggered when BJP MLA Sanjay Saraogi brought up the issue of law and order in Lakhisarai. As minister Bijendra Prasad Yadav of the JD(U) struggled to answer, the Speaker gave the government two days to furnish a reply. At this point, CM Nitish Kumar launched into a tirade against the Speaker for entertaining law-and-order issues in the House.
“What you are doing is unconstitutional… the minister had made it clear that the probe is being conducted. This is the government’s responsibility. It is not a matter of the House. The inquiry report will go to court. It does not come under the purview of the assembly. This conduct is not acceptable,” the CM said.
The Speaker countered that the minister had not provided details about the probe and that other MLAs had also expressed concern about how the arrests had been conducted.
“The police arrested innocent persons who got bail after spending 18 days in jail. You people have made me the Speaker and yet, when I visit my constituency, people ask me what action has been taken against the guilty policemen. The matter was raised three times [in assembly]. Why did not the government take it seriously?” Sinha said, noting that perhaps the CM should tell him how to “run the House”.
“Do not demoralise the chair. I am promoting your thoughts about transparency… Despite being in the chair of the Speaker, I cannot ask about the conduct of policemen?” Sinha added.
Following this exchange, BJP minister Syed Shahnawaz Hussain was heard telling a journalist that “a ripe mango has fallen today”— an allusion to the long build-up ahead of the blow-out. The Speaker, however, refused to speak to journalists and left the House for an hour.
‘A Speaker with a difference’
Four-time Chief Minister Nitish Kumar had a relatively smooth equation with successive Speakers during his previous three tenures. Both Uday Narayan Choudhary, who was Speaker for two terms (2005-2015), and Vijay Choudhury (2015-2020) were JD(U) leaders and generally aligned with the CM.
However, after the November 2020 assembly elections, in which the BJP emerged as the senior partner of the state’s NDA government, the party laid claim to the Speaker’s chair and picked three-time MLA Vijay Kumar Sinha for the post.
Unlike his predecessors, Sinha has frequently adopted a line that is at odds with the JD(U). He pulls up ministers when he finds their answers incomplete, forms House bodies to probe irregularities, and repeatedly points out that the legislature cannot be suppressed.
“The Speaker is trying to run a parallel administration,” alleged a JD(U) minister on the condition of anonymity, adding that Nitish was justifiably angry that the Lakhisarai episode had been brought up in the House.
A BJP MLA who did not wish to be named said the matter boiled down to an “ego clash” between the CM and the Speaker. He also conjectured that had Sinha called Nitish about his complaints back when the arrests were made, the matter could have been quickly resolved.
(Edited by Asavari Singh)
Also Read: Bihar BJP livid with ally Mukesh Sahani, seeks his removal for attacking PM Modi, CM Yogi