Speaker to decide on seating arrangements in house on Feb 18

Bihar Speaker Uday Narayan Chaudhary today deferred to February 18 a meeting with legislature party leaders of five political parties on seating arrangements in the house on February 20 when Jitan Ram Manjhi government will seek a trust vote.
"I had invited the legislature party leaders of five political parties, besides Chief Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi, to decide on seating arrangements in the house for February 20 next, but no decision could be taken as BJP legislature party leader Nandkishore Yadav, who is also the Leader of Opposition, failed to attend," he told reporters.
"I have deferred meeting with legislature party leaders of five political parties having representation in the house on February 18 next at 10 AM as Yadav could not come for today's meeting," Chaudhary said.

The Speaker said he had been confronted with a peculiar situation for the first time when five political parties, with representation in the house, wanting to sit in the opposition.
So, he said, he had to sit with the legislature party leaders of these parties and work out sitting arrangements in the house for the inaugural sitting on February 20 next when the Manjhi government would seek trust vote.
On the incumbent Leader of Opposition (LOP) Nandkishore Yadav writing to the Speaker to protest against a letter by the latter's office to him in which he has been described as BJP legislative party leader and not LOP, Chaudhary admitted that it was mistake committed by his office and said that it had been rectified.

On RJD legislature party leader Abdul Bari Siddique urging the Speaker to put on notice the exact number of MLAs of all political parties for convenience to all, Chaudhary said that he had accepted the demand and would release the list in due course of time.