Bihar Assembly Speaker Vijay Kumar Sinha announced his resignation on the floor of the House today after an emotionally charged speech in which he expressed anguish over the no-confidence motion moved against him by the ruling 'Mahagathbandhan' (grand alliance).
Mr Sinha, who belongs to the BJP which now stands stripped of power in the state, left the House in turmoil as he adjourned proceedings before the trust vote.
He made a hasty exit from the Assembly, and MLAs of the BJP, almost all of whom were wearing saffron scarves and raising slogans like 'Bharat Mata Ki Jai' and 'Jai Shri Ram', followed suit.
Earlier, Mr Sinha spoke for nearly 20 minutes, claiming that after the sudden change of government he wanted "to resign on my own" but decided otherwise after he learnt that a no-confidence motion had been moved.
"It had become incumbent upon me to respond to the motion. Some of the members moving the motion alleged that I had been undemocratic and dictatorial. This I cannot accept," said Mr Sinha.
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