Patna (Bihar) [India]: Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and Assembly Speaker Vijay Kumar Sinha entered into a heated exchange of words in the Legislative Assembly on Monday over the investigation of the Lakhisarai case and accused the Speaker of “openly violating” the constitution by raising questions against his government.
The matter is related to COVID protocols violation during the Saraswati Puja celebrations in Lakhisarai last month in which two persons were arrested by Bihar Police.
Raising objection against the Police action, Assembly Speaker argued that two innocent people were made scapegoats in the case as Bihar Police arrested them and no action has been taken against the organisers of the event.
A counter objection was made by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar over the persistent uproar in the Assembly on the issue of Lakhisarai.
It is pertinent to mention that BJP leader Vijay Kumar Sinha was raising the matter related to his own constituency, Lakhisarai.
Speaking at the Assembly, Nitish defending the Police action, said, “No one will be spared whoever commits a crime. Our government saves no one and does not implicate anyone.”
Lashing out at the Speaker, he reminded that Legislative Assembly is not the place to discuss the crime report card.
Nitish accused the Speaker of violating the Constitution, “You are openly violating the Constitution. This way the House will not run. There is no point in raising the same issue every day. We will definitely consider the Privilege Committee report. The system is run by the Constitution. The report of any crime goes to the court and not to the House.”
Replying to Nitish, Speaker Vijay Kumar Sinha said, “As far as the Constitution is concerned, Chief Minister, you know more than us, I learn from you. Bihar Assembly Speaker said that the Chair should not be discouraged.”
Questioning further, Sinha said, “Why is the government not taking serious action on this? You people have made me the speaker of the assembly. The DSP and SHO could not give answer.”
Notably, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLAs moved a privilege motion notice against the Deputy Superintendent of Police and two other officers in Lakhisarai for violation of the protocol and alleged misconduct with the Speaker.
When the Speaker tried to intervene, the Deputy Superintendent of Police and two other officers allegedly misbehaved with him. In the assembly, Sinha had been asking the government to act against the policemen. BJP leaders have also been pressing for action against the policemen.
