My ministerial post constitutional, says JD(U) leader as MLC tenure expires

Bihar Information and Public Relations Minister Niraj Kumar on Saturday hit back at the Congress for demanding his resignation due to the expiry of his MLC tenure, asserting he is holding his ministerial post as per constitutional provisions.

Congress national spokesperson and Bihar MLC Prem Chandra Mishra had on Friday termed as "unethical and against constitutional norms" the continuance of Bihar ministers Niraj Kumar and Ashok Choudhary in their posts despite the expiry of their tenures in the legislative council earlier this week.

Both the JD(U) leaders were sworn-in as ministers a year ago, during a Cabinet expansion by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar shortly after the NDA's stupendous victory in the Lok Sabha elections.

They are among 17 members of the 75-strong legislative council whose tenure ended on Wednesday. The Election Commission is yet to announce a poll schedule for the Upper House.

Building Construction Minister Ashok Choudhary and IPRD Minister Niraj Kumar have not yet tendered their resignations, Mishra had said.

Kumar retorted to Mishra's demands saying, "I am holding the post of a minister as per the provisions of Article 164(4) of the Constitution which says that any person can remain minister for six months even if he/she is not the member of any house... The person will have to get elected to the state legislature within six months."

To buttress his argument, Kumar cited a 1971 judgment of the Supreme Court, in which the apex court had ruled that any person, who is not a member of any House, can hold the post of a minister under Article 164(4) of the Constitution.

Kumar came down heavily on Mishra for raising the issues of morality and honesty in politics, saying that "Congress has been mired in corruption cases like 2G and Coalgate".

"Besides, people reckoning prisoner number 3351 (referring to Lalu Prasad Yadav's identification number in Ranchi Jail, where he is presently lodged) as their leader are now giving lectures on morality," Kumar said.

Choudhary, however, refused to comment on the issue.

Mishra had also advised the two ministers to follow the example of their party colleague Haroon Rashid who vacated the post of acting chairperson of the legislative council after his MLC tenure ended on Wednesday.

"The two ministers should step down for the sake of constitutional propriety. Of course, the state government can re-appoint them," Mishra had said.

Choudhary was a former Bihar Pradesh Congress Committee president before being sacked from the post in September 2017.

He joined the JD(U) a few months later along with two other MLCs of the Congress.