Nitish Kumar moves confidence motion in Bihar Assembly

Patna: Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar today moved a confidence motion in the Bihar Assembly to prove the majority of his new government. RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav, the son of Lalu Prasad Yadav, spoke first on the confidence motion and launched a scathing attack against Kumar for dumping the Grand Alliance government.

RJD MLAs protested in the portico of Assembly, signalling their aggressive mood ahead of the trust vote. Live telecast of House proceedings is prohibited and reporters not allowed to use their mobile phones inside.

Governor Keshri Nath Tripathi had asked the chief minister yesterday to seek a confidence vote within two days of his swearing in.

Kumar, 66, was sworn in yesterday, returning to the National Democratic Alliance after four years.

The NDA alliance had submitted a list of 132 MLAs to the governor. These include 71 of JD(U), BJP 53, RLSP two, LJP two, HAM one and three independents.

In the 243-member Bihar Assembly, the RJD has 80 MLAs, the Congress 27 and the CPI-ML has three.