The ongoing winter session of the Bihar Legislative Assembly on Wednesday witnessed vigorous protests by the Opposition against the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2024, brought by the Centre in Parliament.

It led to adjournment and walkout by the Mahagathbandhan MLAs.

The protests started at the entrance of the Assembly even before the day’s proceedings could begin. The MLAs of the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), Congress and the Left parties flashed placards and shouted slogans to demand the withdrawal of the bill.

Once the session began and the Question Hour was over, the leader of the Opposition Tejashwi Prasad Yadav asked chief minister Nitish Kumar to clarify his stand on the bill.

Taking the cue, the Mahagathbandhan legislators rushed to the Well. They waved posters and demanded that the Centre should withdraw the bill. They also tried to topple the reporters’ table located in the House.

As the ruckus increased, Assembly speaker Nand Kishore Yadav adjourned the session till 2pm.

Speaking to reporters after the adjournment, Tejashwi said: “All Opposition parties and the constituents of the INDIA bloc are united against the Waqf (Amendment) Bill. Chief minister Nitish Kumar should remember that he indulges in tall talk. He talks about Mahatma Gandhi and keeps Godse (Nathuram Godse) in his heart.”

Tejashwi pointed out that Union minister and senior Janata Dal United (JDU) leader Rajiv Ranjan Singh aka Lalan Singh openly supported the bill in Parliament on the direction of Nitish.

“This is such a big issue and the chief minister is silent! Nobody will believe him even if he says something now. His words and actions differ from one another. He still has time to redeem himself. If he believes in the Constitution of India and the ideology of Mahatma Gandhi, he should not support the bill at any cost. He should rectify his mistake,” Tejashwi added.

The protests continued in the second half of the session and the entreaties of the Speaker failed to pacify the Opposition MLAs. They shouted slogans against Nitish and walked out of the House as a mark of their protest.

Bihar Congress legislature party leader and Kadwa MLA Shakeel Ahmad Khan asserted that Nitish has utilised waqf property to the hilt in various development projects, including construction of school, colleges and hospitals.

“But he (Nitish) is quiet now. This double standard will not do. He must make his stand clear on the issue by speaking on it,” Khan said.

Call for Mithilanchal

Former chief minister and MLC Rabri Devi demanded a separate Mithilanchal state in the Bihar Legislative Council on Wednesday. She suggested that the BJP should take it up with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

“The BJP leaders were congratulating Modi for publishing the Constitution in the Maithili language. I am also happy over Maithili being in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution, but the Centre should create a separate Mithilanchal state,” Rabri, who is the leader of the Opposition in the Legislative Council, said.