PATNA : The JD(U) on Friday held a one-day orientation programme for its legislators, with experts from PRS Legislative Research briefing MLAs and MLCs on lawmaking, legislative responsibilities, budgetary procedures and the functioning of the House. Six legislators questioned the absence of senior leaders Lalan Singh and Ram Nath Thakur, saying the two should have been invited.
The orientation programme was inaugurated by JD(U) National President and former Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar at the party’s state office in Patna.
During the programme, experts held sessions on five key areas — legislative responsibilities and committees, the lawmaking process, recent legislative developments in India, the state budget, and Bihar’s economy and state finances.
Addressing the gathering, JD(U) National Working President Sanjay Kumar Jha said several members had been elected for the first time and needed to be trained to discharge their legislative responsibilities effectively.
Jha said the JD(U) had organised such an orientation programme for the first time among political parties in Bihar. He said the mandate received in the 2025 Assembly elections had increased the party’s responsibilities.
“The people have expectations from us, and we have to live up to those expectations,” he said.
Meanwhile, the absence of senior JD(U) leaders Lalan Singh and Ram Nath Thakur became a point of discussion at the party meeting, with six legislators expressing their displeasure and questioning why the two leaders had not been invited.
The legislators said Singh and Thakur were senior and important faces of the party and should have been included in the meeting.
Those who raised the issue included Nachiketa Mandal, Pankaj Mishra, Suryagarha MLA Ramanand Mandal, Manjeet Singh, Shalini Mishra and Meena Kamat.
The legislators raised concerns about the participation of senior leaders in party meetings and questioned their exclusion from the gathering.
The issue has led to discussion within the JD(U) over the role of senior leaders and their participation in party meetings. The party, however, has not issued any detailed official response on the matter.
