CM can continue for 6 months: Speaker

Patna: Bihar assembly Speaker Prem Kumar on Monday said there is no legal or technical hindrance for Nitish Kumar to continue as CM even after resigning as a member of the state legislative council.

The Speaker said under Article 164(4) of the Constitution, any person who is not a member of either of the two Houses of the state legislature can hold the post of minister or CM for up to six months.

Constitutional experts say that under Article 164(4) of the Constitution of India, a minister, including the CM, who is not a member of either the legislative assembly or the legislative council can remain in office for a consecutive period of six months.

“Hence, Nitish can continue as the CM of Bihar for up to six months even after resigning from the state legislative council,” they argue.

However, despite this legal provision, Nitish may not serve the full six-month grace period and could step down as CM days after taking the oath as a member of the Rajya Sabha, which is expected on April 10, sources in the NDA said on Monday.

Nitish resigned from his membership of the Bihar legislative council on Monday, two weeks after being elected to the Rajya Sabha on March 16. As constitutional rules prohibit an individual from simultaneously holding seats in both Parliament and a state legislature, he was required to vacate his state seat within 14 days of being elected to the Rajya Sabha.