Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLC Devesh Kumar on Friday resigned from position in the Bihar Legislative Council, paving the way for Deepak Prakash to get elected and continue as state minister.
Kumar, who became an MLC on March 17, 2021, after being nominated on Governor's quota, submitted his resignation to Bihar Legislative Council Chairperson Awadhesh Narain Singh.
Kumar's resignation will allow Prakash, the son of Rashtriya Lok Morcha (RLM) chief Upendra Kushwaha, get elected to the Bihar Legislative Council and continue as the Panchayati Raj minister of Bihar.
SC raps Bihar govt over Prakash
The development comes after the Supreme Court questioned the Bihar government over Prakash continuing as Bihar minister beyond six months despite not being elected either to Bihar Legislative Assembly or the Legislative Council.
Hearing a petition that challenged Prakash's reappointment, a bench that was headed by Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant asked the Bihar government over how Prakash is continuing as the minister beyond the six-month limit of the Constitution.
"That is on file or not filed, we will hear. In the end, we will not grant any time for contest. It's a pure legal issue. How are you retaining a minister beyond six months when he is not elected?" the Supreme Court said in its observation.
The controversy over Prakash's re-appointment
According to the Article 164 (4) of the Constitution, "a minister who for any period of six consecutive months is not a member of the legislature of the state shall at the expiration of that period cease to be a minister". Prakash was a minister in the previous Nitish Kumar government and was re-appointed in Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary's cabinet despite not being a member of the Bihar Assembly nor the Legislative Council.
Prakash is the son of Kushwaha, who heads the RLM and is a partner of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) in Bihar. His re-appointment led to questions after he was not fielded for the Legislative Council elections. However, with Kumar's resignation has paved the way for him to get elected and continue as the state minister.
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