By Manoj Pathak

Patna, Mar 18 (IANS): An Assembly speaker is generally accused by the Opposition party for not giving them enough time to speak or for favouring the ruling party but in Bihar the Speaker is miffed over the remarks by the members of the ruling outfit.

However, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has appealed to the ruling party as well as the Opposition to support the Speaker for the smooth functioning of the Assembly.

On Monday, the Leader of Opposition Tejashwi Yadav made a remark about Sugarcane Industries Minister Pramod Kumar reacting to which Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Tarkishore Prasad not only demanded an apology from Tejashwi Yadav but also accused Speaker Vijay Kumar Sinha of favouring him.

A few days back, the Opposition also accused Sinha of being guided by the ruling party.

Things went from bad to worse on Wednesday when Panchayati Raj Minister Samrat Chaudhary pointed at Sinha and asked him "not to get too anxious", which did not go down well with him.

Sinha strongly objected to the Hindi word "vyakul" used by Chaudhary, which loosely translates to being anxious and asked the minister to withdraw his remark immediately which he not only refused to do but repeated it to Sinha's chagrin.

Miffed over the remark, Sinha adjourned the House.

He returned only after Chaudhary tendered an apology.

Expressing anger for not giving enough time to speak in the Assembly, the Opposition had organised a march to Raj Bhavan and submitted a memorandum to the Governor.

BJP spokesperson Nikhil Anand said we all respect Sinha and the Chair. "Sometimes, the members make a remark unintentionally during a debate. However, it should not be taken too seriously. The members even apologise for their remarks."

However, on Wednesday Communist Party of India (MLL) MLA Mehboob Alam made a satirical remark citing a 1968 hit film 'Ankhen' song featuring Mala Sinha and Dharmendra: "Gairon par karam, apno par sitam".