Bihar assembly speaker must step down: Lalu

Rashtriya Janata Dal chief Lalu Prasad on Monday demanded the resignation of Bihar assembly Speaker Udai Narayan Choudhry for allegedly violating Constitutional norms by seeking support for the Mahadalit rally organised by ruling Janata Dal-United.

"He was behaving like a JD-U worker and violated Constitutional norms. He should step down," Lalu told mediapersons outside Parliament house.

He said that people holding Constitutional posts should be careful of their conduct in public. The Speaker's conduct on Sunday drew condemnation from the Opposition in the Bihar assembly.

"The speaker's conduct in the matter is highly reprehensible and in stark contrast to the high standards of propriety set by former Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee," deputy leader of the Opposition in the Bihar assembly Shakeel Ahmed Khan alleged.

Maheswar Singh, the leader of Lok Janshakti Party legislature, also pressed for the resignation of the Speaker while the Congress legislature party leader Ashok Ram said his party too had taken serious view of the Speaker's role in organising the Mahadalit rally to allegedly muster support for JD-U.