Budget session begins in Jharkhand with vacant LoP seat

The month-long Budget session of the Jharkhand Assembly began here on Friday, with a vacant seat of the Leader of the Opposition. BJP MLAs trooped into the well demanding Speaker Rabindra Nath Mahato announce BJP's Legislature Party leader Babulal Marandi as the Leader of Opposition. The Opposition members resumed their seats on the request of the Speaker later.

"The decision is on hold," said a senior official with the assembly secretariat who was asked when the Speaker would decide on the LoP.

Marandi was seen sitting in the front row, which was allotted to him during a special session between January 6 and January 8 soon after the JMM-Congress-RJD alliance won a thumping majority in the assembly polls in November-December. BJP MLAs on February 24 unanimously elected Marandi as their Legislature Party Leader after he merged his Jharkhand Vikas Party (Prajatantrik-JVM-P) with the saffron party a week ago in the presence of former BJP president and Union Home Minister Amit Shah.

A BJP legislature party delegation had also given a letter to the office of the Speaker in favour of Marandi on February 17, when he had merged his party. The Speaker, however, called the name of senior BJP MLA C P Singh to speak on the obituary reference. BJP's number has swelled to 26 in the Jharkhand Assembly with Marandi's arrival. The ruling JMM-Congress-RJD has a combined strength of 47 in the 81-member House.

Another senior BJP MLA Neelkanth Singh Munda took exception when the Speaker called Pradip Yadav, one of the three MLAs who had won on JVM-P symbol, to make the obituary reference. The Speaker also gave time to other MLAs of different parties to speak on the obituary reference. Taking up the obituary reference, the House expressed condolences on the demise of former Bihar minister Abdul Gafoor, former MP Aswini Kumar, Trinamool Congress leader Tapas Paul and other leaders and litterateurs who died recently.

Chief Minister Hemant Soren also expressed grief at the deaths in the violence in Delhi. AJSU party MLA Sudesh Mahto expressed sorrow at the killings of seven villagers in West Singhbhum district by supporters of Pathalgarhi movement, besides condoling deaths of other leaders. Later, the Speaker adjourned the House till Monday.

Earlier, the Chief Minister, speaker and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Alamgir Alam inaugurated the new government's first budget session at the new Assembly building. After the chief minister vacated the Dumka seat, one of the two seats he had won, the present House has 81 MLAs, including a nominated MLA from the Anglo-Indian community.