JD(U)'s Maheshwar Hazari elected deputy speaker of Bihar assembly amid opposition boycott
Patna, Mar 24: Senior JD(U) leader Maheshwar Hazari was elected as the Deputy Speaker of the Bihar legislative assembly on Wednesday amid boycott of the house by opposition protesting use of force against their members when they were holding agitation against a Bill concerning the police department the previous day.
Hazari was elected deputy speaker by voice vote in the absence of opposition members in the house.
The opposition RJD, Congress, CPI-ML, CPI and CPI(M) kept away from the house and instead held a parallel session outside in the assembly premises after choosing RJD's Bhudeo Chuadhary their spealer.
Bhudeo Chaudhary had filed nomination for the deputy speaker post, but neither he nor the opposition MLAs participated in the election.
The Grand Alliance members are protesting against Bihar Special Armed Police Bill, 2021, which the Nitish Kumar government has introduced in a bid to give its police more teeth, deemed necessary in view of the increasingly complex security needs of the state which has been witnessing rapid economic growth.
The chief minister congratulated Hazari upon getting elected as deputy speaker and flayed the opposition for "demeaning the democracy" through their unparliamentary acts.
Kumar said the opposition ran away from the election knowing very well that they will be defeated in the contest and indulged in "undemocratic" action outside.
"What will they gain by doing all this?" he asked.
The chief minister stressed on the need for the new police bill and said had the opposition raised their objections in a proper manner in the house, the government would have cleared their doubts point-by-point.
The bill was passed by the assembly Tuesday.
Hazari secured 124 votes in the 243-member Bihar house.
With the BJP winning larger number of seats within NDA in the recently concluded Bihar polls, the ruling coalition has gone for a role reversal this time with saffron party's Vijay Sinha becoming speaker and the post of deputy speaker going to the JD(U).
Last time, when Kumar's party was in the commanding position, JD(U)'s Vijay Chaudhary was the speaker and Amrendra Pratap Singh of the BJP his deputy.
The Bihar assembly had witnessed an unprecedented chaos Tuesday when police was called to assist the marshals in evicting unruly opposition members who tried to physically prevent the speaker from taking his chair.
The opposition have termed the bill a "black" legislation, taking strong exception to provisions that empower the Special Armed Police, previously known as the Bihar Military Police, to conduct searches and arrests without producing a warrant.
Leader of Opposition Tejashwi Yadav and his MLA brother Tej Pratap Yadav had hit the streets here Tuesday against the bill.
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CM Siddaramaiah alleges ‘criminal conspiracy’ in Sringeri recount, vows legal action
Bengaluru (PTI): Alleging a “criminal conspiracy” by BJP candidate D N Jeevaraj in the Sringeri Assembly poll recounting, Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah on Tuesday said the outcome was manipulated after valid postal ballot votes in favour of Congress leader T D Raje Gowda were tampered with during the recounting process.
Following a Karnataka High Court order on an election petition filed by Jeevaraj, challenging Raje Gowda’s election, the reverification and recounting were conducted on Saturday.
After the reverification and recount of postal ballots for the Sringeri Assembly constituency, votes polled in favour of Raje Gowda were reduced by 255, the returning officer said.
A report on the matter has been submitted to the Election Commission of India for further action, the officer added.
Congress leader Raje Gowda had won the 2023 Assembly polls from Sringeri by 201 votes, defeating his nearest rival Jeevaraj.
Addressing a press conference in Bengaluru, Siddaramaiah said the High Court had directed the recounting of postal ballots and that irregularities were noticed during the exercise conducted on May 2.
“This is a clear case of criminal conspiracy,” Siddaramaiah said, alleging that valid votes cast in favour of Raje Gowda were altered after being accepted by counting agents of all parties, including Congress, BJP, and JD(S).
He claimed that during the recounting of postal ballots, 255 votes were initially accepted as valid by all agents but were later tampered with by subordinate officials.
“There is a second mark on the votes polled in favour of Raje Gowda. They had accepted these as valid votes. Subsequently, another mark was made by officials. This is a clear case of criminal conspiracy,” he said.
When asked who was behind the alleged conspiracy, the CM replied, “It was hatched by Jeevaraj and others. It is planned.”
Siddaramaiah further alleged that the returning officer acted improperly by declaring the result despite the presence of an Election Commission observer during the recounting.
“Immediately after the counting, the returning officer announced the result. He should not have done so; this is against the law,” he said.
He pointed out that Raje Gowda had originally won by 201 votes, but after the recounting, the BJP candidate was declared the winner by 52 votes.
“The BJP has committed a criminal act of conspiracy. This is not vote chori but vote dacoity,” he alleged.
The CM said a police complaint had already been filed by Raje Gowda’s election agent, Sudhir Kumar, and emphasised the need for electoral integrity.
“We want transparency and free and fair elections. That is what our Constitution mandates,” he added.
Stating that the government would pursue legal remedies, Siddaramaiah said, “We are preparing an appeal challenging the returning officer’s announcement in a court of law.”
Responding to a separate query on elections in other states, the CM said there appeared to be an anti-incumbency factor in West Bengal, while results in Tamil Nadu were “surprising,” adding that Vijay’s party was emerging as the largest there.
Following the victory of party candidates in Bagalkote and Davanagere South, Siddaramaiah expressed confidence about future electoral prospects in Karnataka.
“Even in 2028, we will win the Assembly elections. We will come back,” the CM said.
Siddaramaiah added that he would order a forensic examination into the alleged tampering of postal ballots.
