Govt can move confidence motion in Assembly under new rule:

The Bihar Assembly has formulated a new rule under which the government can seek a confidence vote in the House, Assembly Speaker Vijay Kumar Chaudhary today said.
Earlier, a trust motion used to be moved under a procedure suggested by the Speaker using the power under Rule 41 of the Assembly, he told reporters here.
"Now a new provision for a confidence vote has been included in Rule 109 after it was approved by the House in the last budget session," Chaudhary said.
No such rule was in existence in the procedure and conduct of business rules framed originally in 1952, he said.

"The new provision was put into practice for the first time when Nitish Kumar sought a confidence vote for JD(U)-BJP coalition government on July 28," he said.
Explaining the procedure, the Speaker said that a confidence motion could be moved under two circumstances. First on the state governor's direction, and secondly when the government decides to move such a motion on its own, he said.

Chaudhary said the new rule for a confidence vote has been framed after discussions with Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan andz parliamentary experts like Subhash C Kashyap and G C Malhotra.
He said that Rule 169 relating to introduction of the budget and the subsequent process has been amended.

Earlier, a provision had disallowed a discussion on the budget till five days after its introduction, besides preventing a debate on a cut motion for 22 days, he said.
"Now the duration has been reduced to two from five days for starting a discussion after the introduction of the budget proposals and three days in place of 22 days for a discussion on cut motions," he said.
Chaudhary said that a provision has been incorporated in rules 237, 240 and 241 relating to Public Accounts Committee, Estimates Committee and that on public undertakings for inclusion of members of the Legislative Council in them.

This was being earlier done based on a convention, but there was no rule, he said.