Patna. The first session of the 18th Bihar Assembly is starting from Monday 1st December. A new era is going to start in the Bihar Assembly from this winter session and its biggest feature is that for the first time the entire proceedings will be conducted in digital medium. The government has provided tablets to all the MLAs, which will be used for asking questions, viewing the agenda and noting. This step is being considered important towards making the Assembly paperless and making the processes more transparent and perfect. The newly elected MLAs will be sworn in on the first day of the session i.e. on 1st December. After this, the election of the Speaker of the Assembly will be held on December 2, where both the ruling party and the opposition will have their eyes on this process. It is believed that this election will decide the direction of future political activities.
Governor’s address and government’s priorities
After the swearing in, the election of the Assembly Speaker will be held on December 2. According to sources, senior BJP MLA Prem Kumar is a strong contender for this post who will be elected on the basis of mutual consent of the alliance. The Governor will address the joint meeting of both the Houses on December 3. In this, the government will present the outline of development priorities, budget estimates, law and order and administrative reforms for the next five years. Especially the steps taken and upcoming plans regarding digital assembly are likely to be mentioned. The motion of thanks on the Governor’s address will be discussed on 4th December. During this period, debates and heated arguments are expected between the ruling party and the opposition. After the discussions, the government will answer the questions of the House.
Main agenda of assembly session
- The government plans to present the Second Supplementary Budget in this session.
- On December 4, the motion of thanks on the Governor’s address will be discussed and the government will reply.
- On December 5, the last day of the session, there will be a debate on the supplementary expenditure statement, after which the Appropriation Bill will be presented.
Chaos expected over supplementary budget and appropriation bill
On December 5, the last day of the session, there will be a debate on the Second Supplementary Expenditure Statement and after this the related Appropriation Bill will be introduced. It is believed that during the discussion on financial provisions, the opposition will try to put the government in the dock on issues like unemployment, education, health, agriculture and law and order.
Preparation for grand alliance, opposition can show its attitude
While the government seems to be ready with the digital and legislative agenda, the Grand Alliance has also not delayed in formulating its strategy. RJD called a meeting of 25 newly elected MLAs, after which a joint meeting of MLAs of Congress and Left parties elected Tejashwi Yadav as the Leader of Opposition. It is believed that the opposition is seeing this session as the first platform to open a political front against the government.
What is special in Bihar Assembly session?
- This is the first time that the 18th Assembly will run in digital-paperless mode. Tablet based system, internet-display screen – such modern systems are perfection with transparency and this is an important change for Bihar.
- Strict restrictions like Section 163 can raise questions on the freedom of demonstrations, protests, democratic activities and protests. These rules can become a challenge especially for the opposition or civil society.
- The Nitish Kumar led government i.e. NDA has an extraordinary majority (202/243). In this situation the government will not face any difficulty in getting legislative approval.
- It is also a big challenge for the opposition to decide the strategy on limited seats (35) and keep the grand alliance organized, which is important to keep the session smooth or controversy-free.
Assembly premises under security cover
This time the Assembly session is also special in terms of security because Section 163 of BNSS has been imposed to maintain law and order in the Assembly premises and surrounding areas during the session. Under this, there will be a ban on demonstrations, processions and gathering of five or more people together. This is being considered as a precautionary policy of the government, while the opposition may call it a step to restrict democratic expression.
