'Will not step down,' says Bihar Assembly Speaker ahead of floor test

Patna: Bihar Assembly Speaker Awadh Bihari Chaudhary, against whom the newly formed NDA government has moved a no confidence motion, on Wednesday dug in his heels.

The senior RJD leader made it clear that he will not resign from the post before the commencement of the budget session on February 12, when the Nitish Kumar government is also scheduled to seek a trust vote.

"I am not going to resign. I will be in the assembly on February 12 and conduct proceedings of the House as per rules," Chaudhary told reporters.

It was pointed out to him that according to the BJP-led coalition, which has snatched power from the Mahagathbandhan, a Speaker cannot be in the chair with a no confidence motion pending.

He replied, "As per rules, the Speaker should take a decision within 14 days of the receipt of notice for no confidence motion. The same has been received by me only today.

The NDA, which enjoys a slender majority, is wary of the floor test being conducted with a Speaker from the main opposition party in the chair.

However, a senior BJP leader, who requested anonymity, said, "Chaudhary needs to know that as leader of the House, the chief minister has the power to decide which business on the agenda of the House should be taken up first. So, the RJD leader may end up facing a situation in which he is voted out by the House. It is up to him to decide whether to face the ignominy or salvage his pride by resigning."

Incidentally, BJP leader Vijay Kumar Sinha had similarly refused to resign in 2022, when Chief Minister Nitish Kumar quit the NDA and formed a new government with the Mahagathbandhan.

Sinha, who has become a deputy CM in the new NDA government, had, however, announced his resignation on the floor of the House, avoiding the no-confidence vote.

BJP leaders and former ministers Nand Kishor Yadav and Amarendra Pratap Singh are now said to be in the race for the Speaker's post.