No constitutional crisis in Bihar: Governor K N Tripathi

KOLKATA: Holding that there is no constitutional crisis in Bihar, Governor K N Tripathi today said the law is very clear about the confidence vote scheduled on February 20.

"Where is the constitutional crisis? Law is very clear on that point. Majority is to be decided on the floor of the House and Feb 20 is the date to decide on majority. One may lose, one may gain," Tripathi, the acting Governor for Bihar told reporters on the sidelines of a program here.

When asked whether he feels that former Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar is in a hurry to get back his chair, Tripathi said, "Put this question to Nitish Kumar".

The all-party meet, convened by Bihar Speaker Uday Narayan Chaudhary today to discuss seating arrangement during the February 20 confidence vote on Chief Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi, authorised him to take relevant decision on the issue, amid walkout by BJP.

Kumar is currently claiming the support of over 130 MLAs. These include 24 of RJD, five from Congress, one from CPI and an Independent.

Manjhi on the other hand is also claiming that he has enough MLAs on his side to reach the magic figure of 117 and prove his majority in the 243-member assembly whose 10 seats are vacant.

The main opposition party BJP has 87 MLAs.