Bihar

• 21 Oct 2021

Bihar Vidhan Sabha Century Celebrations

Why in News

• On October 21, 2021, President Ram Nath Kovind inaugurated the centenary celebrations organized to mark the centenary of the Bihar Legislative Assembly building. Earlier, the President laid the foundation stone of the Centenary Memorial Stambh in the Assembly Complex.

Key Points

• This memorial pillar, 25 feet high, is being established to commemorate the completion of the hundred years of the main building. This building of the Legislative Assembly was completed in the month of March 1920.
• The first meeting of the Legislative Assembly was held on 7 February 1921 in the newly constructed building after Bihar and Orissa provinces got full statehood in 1920. Presently the term of the 17^th Vidhan Sabha is going on.
• The first meeting held on February 7, 1921 was attended by Lord Satyendra Prasad Sinha as governor. At the time of the British, this building was known as the Bihar-Orissa Legislative Council.
• After the introduction of the Government of India Act, 1919, Bihar and Orissa got full state status. Satyendra Prasad Sinha became the first governor of Bihar.
• After the first election after independence, the assembly met for the first time in 1952, when there were 331 members in the assembly. The present Bihar Legislative Assembly has 243 members.
• This building of the Bihar Legislative Assembly has been constructed in the Italian Renaissance style. It shows a proportional balance. The tall circular pillars and semicircular arches further enhance its beauty.
• This building has cut marks at a certain interval, which make it very beautiful. In the eyes of experts, it is an extension of the Indo-Saracenic style. The Proceeding Hall of the Vidhan Sabha is in a semicircular shape. The assembly complex has three halls, 12 rooms.
• Architect A.M. Millwood designed the Bihar Legislative Assembly building. Its internal structure is 60 feet long and 50 feet wide. The length of the front side of the assembly building is 230 feet. The building of the Legislature was divided into two parts after the Act of 1935. The Legislative Assembly was formed in the first part and the Legislative Council in the second.
• Shri Krishna Singh was the first Chief Minister of Bihar. During his chief ministership, the Zamindari Abolition Bill was introduced in the Legislative Assembly on September 18, 1947 and the Land Reform Act was passed in 1950.
• Chief Minister Nitish Kumar said that President Ram Nath Kovind was the Governor of Bihar for almost two years. After that he became the President. Prior to this, Zakir Hussain became the President from the Governor of Bihar.