Patna: BJP today strongly contested JD(U)'s plea to accord it status of opposition in Legislative Assembly and said any step by the Speaker in favour of JD(U) would be challenged in the court.
Chief Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi despite being declared unattached member remains with the JD(U) flock and hence the plea by Nitish Kumar's party to recognise them as opposition was not legitimate, the Leader of Opposition in Assembly Nand Kishore Yadav told reporters here.
About his party's role in crucial confidence vote, Yadav said BJP would take a decision on trust vote at its Legislature Party meeting on February 18.
BJP has 87 members in Bihar House and if Manjhi manages 31 votes of its own, the party could help it sail through in the confidence vote.
Bihar Assembly at present has an effective strength of 233 and 117 is the magic figure required for majority.
“If Manjhi tries to join some party in the capacity of being unattached member his membership can go. He had become MLA on the JD(U) symbol and hence remains in that party fold,” Yadav said.
The BJP leader reiterated that if Speaker violated rules and gave status of opposition to JD(U) his party would knock the door of the court.
JD(U) Legislature Party Leader in Bihar Legislative Assembly Vijay Kumar Chaudhary had yesterday asked Speaker Uday Narayan Chaudhary to recognise his party as the main opposition in the House and accordingly make seating arrangements for them in the House.
Apprising the Speaker that the JD(U) has decided to oppose the Manjhi government in the House and decided to sit in the opposition, Chaudhary urged the former to recognise his party as the main opposition and accordingly make sitting arrangements for his party MLAs in the House.
Yadav, who had served as Convenor of NDA in Bihar and was a senior minister in Nitish Kumar's ministry, came down heavily on Kumar labelling him as “An expert in horse trading”.
