Following two days of acrimony, Bihar’s assembly witnesses concord after the speaker’s assurance

Acrimony made way for conviviality in the Bihar Assembly on Wednesday, when opposition members gave up their intransigence and heartily took part in the proceedings following an assurance by Speaker Vijay Kumar Sinha that their concerns regarding safety and honour will be squarely addressed. The Monsoon Session, which commenced two days ago, had been plagued by the raking up of the incidents of March 23 when many opposition members were physically evicted by police for holding the Speaker hostage inside his chamber.

Leader of the Opposition Tejashwi Yadav had on Tuesday moved an adjournment motion on the issue, which was turned down, though he was allowed to make a statement, which was followed by rejoinders of the Speaker himself, besides State Parliamentary Affairs Minister Vijay Kumar Chaudhary. This seemed to have left the opposition embittered as it disrupted the pre-lunch session and staged a walkout after the House re-assembled at 2 pm. Many of the opposition MLAs also claimed that a decision had been taken to boycott the proceedings for the rest of the session, which comes to an end on Friday.

On Wednesday, they stood outside the Vidhan Sabha premises raising slogans, carrying placards and wearing helmets a symbolism the MLAs have been taking recourse to, underscoring the fear that they could again be manhandled for going against the government. Some compromise, however, appeared to have been reached as the opposition members were seen taking seats when proceedings began. Ajeet Sharma, leader of the Congress legislature party, rose in his seat asserting that the issue of MLAs’ safety and honour was of supreme importance and could not be brushed aside.

He also expressed concern that since action was being mooted against members who were found particularly unruly on March 23, the matter be discussed threadbare at a meeting of the Business Advisory Committee of the House. The Speaker gave his assent, saying he did not want any duvidha (misgivings) to remain in the minds of legislators belonging to any party who were all invited to take part in the meeting, which he was convening at 1 pm.

The gesture set the tone for the day and the members enthusiastically took part in the debates and discussion during the Question Hour and the Zero Hour.