Despite patch-up with CM Nitish Kumar, Bihar Speaker asserts his position, says what happened was not proper

Speaker Sinha, who had stayed away from the House on Tuesday, came to the House on Wednesday and began on a philosophical note, without mentioning the chief minister. “It is said that one should not be afraid of death but of ignominy and defamation. I have lived my life holding this mantra. I have bowed while accepting love and respect from people. I have this unshakeable faith that the country and its democratic system are always above us. People would go but the country would remain.”

Indirectly referring to the spat with Nitish Kumar, Sinha said: “Whatever happened in the House over the last few days cannot be called proper as per the decorum of the House. Our today is the history of tomorrow and history has always been sharp and incisive in judging events…. Hence, we should conduct ourselves (in the House) in such a manner so that coming times do not fight shy of us.”

Hinting at a patch-up between him and CM and in turn, between alliance partners BJP and the JD (U), the Speaker said: “We have moved forward with the resolve that whatever happened in the last few days should not be repeated. The house teaches us that we should have the courage to accept and intention to reform ourselves…Our democracy has deep roots and a small gush of winds cannot shake its roots. This arrangement teaches us that we can oppose without hating others and society can progress without violence”.

The Speaker also quoted former prime minister Atal Behari Vajpayee’s poem that read: “….Kshanik jeet mein, dirgh haar mein, jivan ke shat-shat aakarshak aarmanon ko dhalna hoga, kadam mila kar chalna hoga (In temporary victory and prolonged defeat, hundreds of attractive wishes of life have to mould itself, we have to march matching each other’s footsteps).

The RJD, however, did not budge from its demand of seeking an apology from the chief minister for “questioning the authority of the Speaker, who is called custodian of the House”. The Speaker had to adjourn the House proceedings till 2 pm.

🗞️ Subscribe Now: Get Express Premium to access the best Election reporting and analysis 🗞️

Earlier, on Tuesday evening, the JD (U) took the initiative for a patch-up with word going out that Sinha might go to Delhi to meet top BJP leaders to discuss the situation. Senior JD (U) leader and Education Minister Vijay Kumar Choudhary played a key role as mediator and late Nitish Kumar met Sinha along with some senior BJP and JD (U) leaders. BJP central leadership had been apprised of the situation by BJP state president Sanjay Jaiswal.

Even though the alliance partners BJP and JD (U) have made peace with each other, BJP sources indicated that “coming times could be tough for the alliance”.