Ahead of the World Cup semi-final clash between India and Pakistan at Mohali, the speaker of the Bihar assembly has announced that the Wednesday's session will start at 9.00am and end at 1.00pm.
Earlier, some legislators had sought an early adjournment of the House on Wednesday to allow them to watch the match.
Cutting across party lines, several MLAs made the unprecedented demand requesting to limit the proceedings of the day during the ongoing Budget session. They were mounting pressure on the speaker to adjourn the assembly during the match period.
The House session continues till around 5 pm everyday which means the MLAs would have to miss most of the first innings of the all-important match.
Batting for an early adjournment of the House on the day, JD(U) MLA Ajay Pratap said, "India-Pakistan matches are always exciting and interesting. We are asking for a half day so that we too can enjoy the match."
However, the state government was not amused at the idea of the House functioning for half a day. Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Modi said MLAs who were keen to watch the match had the option of staying away from the assembly.
"Those who want to watch the match can stay absent. As it is, all legislators are never in attendance for the session," Modi argued.
