Assembly Speaker CP Singh resigned from his post on Friday, a day after the Hemant Soren Government sailed through the vote of confidence, insisting he had no instructions from the BJP on the matter.
He handed over the letter to the Secretary of the Assembly as there is no Deputy Speaker. Singh, who had been elected Speaker when JMM was in the Government along with the BJP, JD(U) and AJSU in January 2010, had courted controversy after he did not quit with change of dispensation. After quitting, he told reporters, “It was quite natural to be suspicious if an MlA from the Opposition is in the Speaker’s chair. But I had made it clear I would take a proper decision at an appropriate time.”
The ruling combine will elect a new Speaker before House resumes business on July 25, when Governor Syed Ahmed is to address the House. JMM’s Shashank Shekhar Bhokta is said to be a front-runner. The erstwhile Speaker noted, “It was my own conscious decision. The party did not give me any instruction. I tried to strike a balance between heart and mind and took a decision to stay in the Speaker’s chair to uphold the dignity of House.”
“I wanted to prove and give a message for future Speaker to conduct House impartially with malice towards none,” he added. Singh asked both the treasury and Opposition benches to play a positive role in State welfare. As for himself, he pointed out that he has been associated with the BJP since 1968 and would continue to work for it. Singh maintained that though questions were raised over his impartiality due to his long association with the party, “I have proved my credentials on the day of confidence vote.” He said he upheld high standard of parliamentary practices during his tenure. “The Speaker does not represent, support or owe allegiance to any party,” Singh pointed out.
The outgoing Speaker, who represents Ranchi Assembly constituency, also counted several achievements of his three year-plus stint as Speaker, including launching the Assembly website, online question-answer system and publication of parliamentary political dictionary. Singh said he ensured that Assembly officers and staff are trained in handling tricky parliamentary issues. He made sure of transparency in financial management and got accounts since 2010 audited by the office of the Principal Accountant General. However, Singh regretted that he could not fully equip the Assembly with technical know-how or get a state-of-the-art building for the House.