Railway Minister and Rashtriya Janata Dal supremo Lalu Prasad Yadav Thursday welcomed the resignation of Bihar Governor Buta Singh.

"I welcome his resignation. It is the beginning of a good tradition," Lalu told newspersons half an hour after Buta announced that he had resigned.

• Buta Singh resigns as Bihar governor

Lalu, in his first reaction in Patna, said after the Supreme Court verdict on dissolution of the state assembly, it was for Buta to decide to stay or step down.

Lalu said that he and his party respected the verdict of the court.

The Bharatiya Janata Party, which had demanded Buta's resignation soon after the Supreme Court verdict, demanded that Centre appoint a new governor in Bihar with a clean image.

"We demand the Centre send a governor to Bihar who has a clean image and is not partial to anyone," BJP spokesperson Kiran Ghai said.