M A I N   N E W S

11 Bihar legislators resign
Suspended members meet Guv, seek dismissal of Nitish govt
Sanjay Singh
Tribune News Service

EMPTY STANDS: Vacant seats in the Bihar Legislative Assembly a day after 67 legislators were suspended, in Patna on Thursday. — PTI

Patna, July 22
Eleven Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) legislators on Thursday resigned from the Assembly to protest the “partisan” role of the Speaker and intensify their movement against Chief Minister Nitish Kumar who is allegedly involved in a financial scam.

A day after the state Congress urged all Opposition legislators to resign en-masse to press for early dissolution of the Assembly, the 11 members, who were among the 67 suspended on Wednesday, submitted their resignation to LJP state president Pasupati Kumar Paras.

He would hand over the resignations to Speaker Uday Narain Choudhury after LJP chief Ram Vilas Paswan's clearance.

Paswan will arrive here from New Delhi on Thursday to finalise the party’s strategy with alliance partner Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), whose chief Lalu Prasad is also expected to reach here.

Paras said LJP's legislators have submitted their resignation from the Assembly to protest the partisan role of the Speaker.

“It was shocking for us that the Speaker suspended only Opposition legislators and spared the ruling parties legislators. The speaker singled out the opposition legislators for unruly behaviour in the house,” he said.

The suspended Opposition MLAs met the Governor Devanand Konwar at Raj Bhawan today, seeking immediate dismissal of Nitish Kumar government for its alleged involvement in siphoning off funds meant for poverty alleviation and welfare schemes.

Meanwhile, the Patna High Court on Thursday took up for hearing the Bihar government’s Interlocutory Application (IA) seeking a stay on the court’s move to order CBI probe into the CAG report pointing irregularities in the expenditure of Rs 11, 412 crore by the state government between fiscal year 2002-2008.

The Division Bench headed by Chief Justice Rekha M.Doshit heard the arguments of state Advocate General and other lawyers through out the day. The hearing will continue tomorrow as well. (With IANS inputs)