Bihar house session likely to be stormy

Patna, July 14: A week-long monsoon session of the Bihar assembly, beginning from Friday, is likely to be stormy with main opposition RJD-LJP combine and the Congress planning to corner Nitish Kumar government on several issues, including the Forbesganj Police firing.

Talking to PTI, leader of the opposition in the state assembly Abdul Bari Siddiqui said he would hold a meeting with the leaders of opposition, including LJP, Congress for working out a strategy to grill the government.

Alleging that the state goverment was a total failure on all fronts, Siddiqui said the opposition would press for a special debate on June 2 Forbesganj police firing, recent death of more than 50 children in mysterious disease in Muzaffarpur, ''hoarding and blackmarketing of fertilisers and foodgrains'', besides the ''spiralling'' crime graph.

On the session having technically four sittings, Congress MLA Sadanand Singh said "we find no reason behind such a short duration. We call it a deliberate attempt by the Nitish government to avoid discussions on burning issues in Bihar which also include poor power scenario and deteriorating law and order."

Siddiqui said the short duration of the monsoon session also violated the recommendations of presiding officers during a recent conference that the state assembly should debate for at least 90 days in a year.

Reacting to it, Deputy Chief Minister S K Modi said the state government was fully prepared to tackle the opposition's charge.

"The session can be extended if the opposition brings resolutions in conformity with the settled legislative procedure," he said, adding "we are ready to counter the opposition."

Congress leaders said the party MLAs would raise the issue of holding a CBI inquiry into the Forbesganj firing that killed four persons in Bihar's Araria district last month.

"Opposition parties are free to raise the issues. But, what they end up doing is creating unruly scenes," state Parliamentary Affairs Minister Vijendra Prasad Yadav said.

PTI