Samrat Choudhary's govt wins trust vote in Bihar assembly

The BJP-led government in Bihar successfully navigated a confidence vote, signalling stability and paving the way for promised economic development and investment in the state.

The Bharatiya Janata Party-led government in Bihar on Friday won a vote of confidence in the state assembly, where Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary gave assurance of speedy economic development, with investments worth Rs 5 lakh crore in one year.

The motion seeking a vote of confidence, moved by Choudhary, who became the first BJP leader to head a government in the state, was passed through voice vote in the 243-strong House, where the ruling National Democratic Alliance enjoys a brute majority with 202 seats in its kitty.

Debate on Women's Reservation Bill

The House also passed another motion censuring the opposition's stance on the women's reservation bill.

The debate on the motion of confidence saw acrimonious exchanges between the ruling side and the opposition, which seemed resolute to make its voice heard, moving past the trauma of decimation it faced in the assembly polls held last November.

Leader of the Opposition Tejashwi Yadav gave a brief but fiery speech, in which he touched upon various issues, including the raging debate on reservation for women in the legislatures, which has been revived since a bill seeking to link the quotas to delimitation fell in Parliament as it did not get a two-thirds majority.

Yadav raised the issue of a 'quota within quota', a line toed by his Rashtriya Janata Dal and other Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) parties on the ground that reservation for women must not result in a decline in the representation of Dalits, OBCs and extremely backward classes.

Accusations and Counter-Accusations

The RJD leader was slammed by Vijay Kumar Chaudhary, a senior Janata Dal-United leader and Deputy CM, who holds the Parliamentary Affairs portfolio.

Chaudhary, who alleged that Yadav and his allies were 'stalling' women's reservation, also tabled a censure motion on the issue, towards the end of the one-day special session.

State BJP president Sanjay Saraogi, who is also an MLA, later told reporters, "It was a big move by the NDA to call the bluff of the opposition, which has been trying to stall women's reservation."

Yadav, who is also a former Deputy CM, tried to fish in troubled waters of the BJP, as well as the coalition led by it, as he accused the party of having worked to 'finish' Janata Dal-United president Nitish Kumar, who resigned as the chief minister last week, upon becoming a Rajya Sabha MP.

"You (the BJP) could have installed your own chief minister after the elections. But you acted in a manner that enabled you to finish Nitish Kumar, so much for your pronouncements of 'pachis se tees'," said the RJD national working president, mentioning the slogan coined by the NDA during assembly polls.

Political Stability in Bihar

"We need political stability for a state to prosper. But Bihar has had five governments in the last five years," he added.

However, in his speech, the CM countered the allegation and reminded Yadav that Kumar, 'the most popular leader of Bihar who continues to guide our government,' had played a key role in helping the RJD leader's father, Lalu Prasad Yadav, become the chief minister in the 1990s.

Choudhary, whom Yadav had sought to belittle by calling him 'a product of Laluji's school', a reference to the BJP leader having begun his career with the RJD, also claimed, "I am a victim of your party's high-handedness, while it was in power. Several members of my family, including myself, had been named in fake cases, forcing me to enter public life."

Personal Attacks and Historical References

Yadav had referred to a famous speech by Choudhary's father, Shakuni, in which the latter had threatened to 'bury alive' Prime Minister Narendra Modi and said, "We wish all the best to the new chief minister, but he must be on his guard as old BJP hands are watching his rise with resentment and may strike at the earliest opportunity."

Choudhary, 57, sought to rubbish Yadav, reminding him 'my father was a founding member of the Samata Party', the name by which the JD-U was known earlier, and "I enjoy the trust of Modi, Amit Shah and the entire top leadership of the BJP and there is no space for misgivings, no matter how hard the opposition tries."

However, troubled equations between the BJP and the JD-U were also referred to by Manohar Prasad Singh, a Congress MLA, who made the tongue-in-cheek remark, "Perhaps, Nitish Kumar has paid the price for cancelling the dinner."

The allusion was to an episode from 2010, when a BJP meeting was underway in Patna, and Kumar had cancelled a dinner he was supposed to host for his allies after advertisements of a Rs 5-crore assistance from Gujarat appeared in local papers. PM Modi was then the chief minister of the western state.

Yadav was also pilloried by Deputy CM Bijendra Prasad Yadav, another senior JD-U leader who holds the Finance portfolio.

The veteran leader reminded the 37-year-old RJD working president, "Do not make a fuss about debt. All states borrow money for development work. Why else do we have institutions like the Reserve Bank of India?"

In his speech, the CM said, "I had the opportunity to serve as a Deputy CM in charge of the Finance Department under Nitish Kumar. People may not be aware that we have attracted investments worth Rs 1.36 lakh crore in the past year. That figure will climb up to Rs 5 lakh crore in the next one year."