The month-long budget session of the Bihar assembly beginning tomorrow is likely to commence on stormy note with the the opposition determined to corner the government on many issues, including speaker Udai Narayan Choudhry openly mustering support for JD(U) sponsored Mahadalit rally.
The speaker is the chief organiser of today's Mahadalit rally and he toured the state to muster support for the rally, senior RJD leader and deputy leader of the opposition in the Assembly, Shakeel Ahmed Khan, said.
"The speaker's conduct in the matter is highly reprehensible and in stark contrast to the high standards of propriety set by former Lok Sabha speaker Somnath Chatterjee", Khan said.
He said the strategy to highlight, what he termed as the "unbecoming conduct" of the speaker would be finalised during a meeting of leaders of various parties to discuss floor coordination tomorrow.
Maheswar Singh, the leader of LJP legislature party was more forthcoming in his statement and said that his party would press for the resignation of the speaker on the issue.
The Congress legislature party leader Ashok Ram, also a dalit leader, said that his party too had taken serious view of the speaker's role in organising the Mahadalit rally to muster support favour of the ruling JD (U) during the upcoming asembly elections.
Senior RJD MLA and state EJD president, Abdul Bari Sidiqui, when contacted said, apart from the speaker's role in organising the Mahadalit rally, the party would also forcefully raise the misuse of government funds by the NDA government.
Among other issues on the opposition agenda are the excise controversy, state government's failure to rein in coaching institutes, Supual firing and killing of 12 innocent people by Maoists in Jamui district with state police machinery remaining a mute spectator, Siddqui said.
The chief whip of the JD (U) Shrawan Kumar said the government was prepared to give point by point reply to opposition charges.
The Rs500 crore excise scam as alleged by the sacked excise minister Jamshed Ashraf seeking a CBI probe into his allegation had already been investigated by the officials.
"We are not afraid of opposition charge and will give detailed reply to their charges", the JD(U) chief whip said.
