The Bihar Assembly witnessed pandemonium on Monday, with the Opposition NDA leaders demanding a CBI inquiry into the Bihar Staff Selection Commission (BSSC) paper leak.
A delegation of IAS officers met the Assembly Speaker seeking his intervention in the issue and the release of the arrested BSSC chairman, Sudhir Kumar.
The NDA MLAs gathered at the gates of the Assembly with placards and shouted slogans against the government. Later, as the House sat for the day, the Leader of the Opposition, Prem Kumar, demanded suspension of Question Hour to take up the urgent matter. When the Speaker refused, Opposition leaders trooped into the Well of the House and raised slogans against the Nitish Kumar government. They also demanded the sacking of Ministers allegedly linked to the scam. The House was then adjourned till 2 p.m.
In the second half of the session, the government presented its revenue-surplus budget for the year 2017-18. Finance Minister Abdul Bari Siddiqui ended his budget speech in 20 minutes, which later drew criticism from the Opposition leaders. “There is nothing in the budget to highlight, which is why he ended it quickly,” said Mr. Kumar.
Later, outside the House, Mr. Kumar told journalists that the government should agree to the IAS officers’ demand for a CBI probe into the BSSC paper leak scam. “The government should also disclose the names of Ministers and MLAs who had made job recommendations to the BSSC and take action against them,” he told The Hindu .
Former Chief Minister and leader of the Hindustani Awam Morcha (Secular) Jitan Ram Manjhi said he had some papers, which he would make public in a day or two, that would reveal the identity of those who had sent recommendations to the BSSC chief for jobs. “BSSC chairman Sudhir Kumar is an honest IAS officer and his arrest only shows the vindictive attitude of the government,” he said.
Meanwhile, a delegation of IAS officers met Speaker Vijay Chaudhury in the Assembly to seek a CBI inquiry into the scam. They are also likely to meet Deputy Chief Minister Tejaswi Yadav and senior State BJP leader Sushil Kumar Modi.
On Sunday, the IAS officers declared that they would no longer take oral orders, not even from the Chief Minister.
