PATNA, Feb 19 � A day ahead of Bihar Chief Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi�s floor test in the Assembly, Speaker Uday Narain Choudhary today notified JD-U leader Vijay Kumar Chaudhary as the Leader of Opposition, replacing Nand Kishore Yadav of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which has decided to support Manjhi during the confidence vote tomorrow, reports IANS.
The Speaker accepted former Chief Minister Nitish Kumar�s demand that Janata Dal (United) be given the status of the main Opposition party.
The BJP decided to support Manjhi during the confidence vote �after a long meeting of the BJP legislators,� said senior party leader Sushil Kumar Modi.
Earlier, BJP legislators created a ruckus and protested in the Bihar Assembly complex against the decision to appoint the JD-U leader as the Leader of Opposition.
�We will not sit silently... giving the status of the Opposition party to JD-U is not correct. We will protest against this move,� Nand Kishore Yadav told IANS.
�How did the Speaker take away the Opposition party tag from the BJP,� asked senior party leader Shahnawaz Hussain.
�We protest against this move, as well as the way the JD-U is treating Manjhi,� Hussain said at a press conference in Delhi. He also said that the BJP has nothing to do with the charges of horse-trading being made by Nitish Kumar�s camp.
