<b>Jharkhand</b>: Koda wins vote of confidence

The UPA ministry in Jharkhand, led by Madhu Koda, today won the vote of confidence 41-1 with the lone CPI-ML (Lib) MLA voting aginst the motion while opposition NDA refused to participate in the process alleging that the officiating Speaker has no power to conduct the trust vote.

Forty-one MLAs supporting Koda stood up when officiating Speaker Pradip Kumar Balmuchu asked those supporting the confidence motion to stand up.

When Balmuchu asked those against to rise, none of the NDA legislators stood up as they were protesting against officiating Speaker conducting the confidence motion.

They claimed that an officiating Speaker has no power to conduct the trust vote.

CPI-ML (Liberation) member, Vinode Kumar Singh, however, rose to his feet and said that his vote should be counted against the motion. His party had decided yesterday to vote against the motion.

Balmuchu was appointed officiating speaker by Governor Syed Sibte Razi as Speaker Inder Singh Namdhari had resigned soon after the fall of the Arjun Munda NDA government on September 14.

The house was later adjourned sine die.