Patna, Feb 12: Nitish Kumar-led government in Bihar comfortably managed to win the vote of trust on Monday. The Nitish Kumar government got 129 votes in Bihar assembly while the opposition leaders walked out from the House. Three RJD MLAs – Chetan Anand of Sheohar, Neelam Devi of Mokama and Prahlad Yadav – voted in favour of Nitish Kumar government.
Deputy speaker Maheshwar Hazari did not vote in the assembly as the Nitish Kumar already crossed the magic figure of 122. If the situation was tight, then he might have cast his vote in the favour of Nitish Kumar government. Hazari is a MLA of JD-U.
After winning the vote of trust, former industry minister Shahnawaz Hussain congratulated Nitish Kumar for the victory. “Under the guidance of PM Narendra Modi and the leadership of Nitish Kumar, the double-engine government will work at a rapid pace in Bihar for the development. It is a new start for the new mission with new energy.”
RJD and Mahagathbandhan played well during the vote of trust but they failed at the last moment due to the three RJD leaders who cross-voted. NDA leaders had earlier claimed that they have the majority of 128 MLAs in Bihar assembly. RJD MLAs Chetan Anand, Neelam Devi and Prahlad Yadav were involved in cross-voting. They changed the camp following the no confidence motion passed against Speaker Awadh Bihari Choudhary.
During the debate on the no-confidence motion in the Bihar Assembly on Monday, RJD leader and former Deputy CM Tejashwi Yadav said he always considered Chief Minister Nitish Kumar as a father figure, and wondered what made the JD-U chief ditch the ‘Mahagathbandhan’ and return to the NDA led by the BJP.
“I always considered Nitish Kumar as ‘Dashrath’ (character from ‘Ramayan’). I don’t know what forced him to leave the ‘Mahagathbandhan’,” Tejashwi said.
“I also want to congratulate Nitish Ji for being sworn-in as the Chief Minister of Bihar for the ninth time, including thrice in one term. Can anyone take the guarantee that he will not switch sides again,” the RJD leader said on the floor of the House.
“But I still have respect for Nitish Kumar. We had supported him following his call to unite the forces against communalism in the country. In the run up to the 2020 Assembly elections, I had promised the people of Bihar to give 10 lakh government jobs. Now people of the country have seen how government jobs were given to the common youth,” Yadav said. “After visiting the Raj Bhavan, Nitish Kumar had said he is not feeling well in the company of RJD. Are we singers and dancers who came for JD-U’s entertainment? We came here to do work. The works which were looking impossible, we made them possible.
“I am happy to be in the opposition. The people of the country have seen the work we did in the past 17 months. No other government did such work,” Yadav said.
Bihar Governor Rajendra Arlekar on Monday asserted that rule of law was the “top priority” of the Nitish Kumar government in the state. The governor made the averment in his customary address to members of both Houses of the state legislature on the inaugural day of the budget session. “The rule of law prevails in the state… that is the top priority of the government. To improve law and order, the strength of (police) force has been increased,” said Arlekar. The governor further said the state government has decided to construct boundaries around the temples and burial grounds in the state. (IANS)
