In a letter to its former national president Ramchandra Prasad (RCP) Singh, Bihar's Janata Dal United (JD(U)) sought information on all the properties Singh had acquired in the last nine years. The party claimed to have found irregularities in the properties acquired by him.
The letter comes a week after videos of Singh projecting himself as Bihar's future chief minister through slogans emerged.
Remarking on the notice, party's parliamentary board president Upendra Kushwaha said that the matter was clear, and that the party received information, which made the issue look like a prima facie corruption case, reported news agency ANI.
"The party now wants to know his version. Further action will be taken as needed. We are awaiting his reply," the agency quoted him as saying.
The letter asks Singh for details about 58 plots of land bought by Singh in the last few years, questioning the acquisition of the wealth and the absence of this land from Singh's election affidavit, reported NDTV.
Calling the letter JD(U)'s attempt to humiliate him, RCP Singh told NDTV that the properties in question "were bought by my wife or daughters who are income tax payers since 2010."
He said that the sale and purchase of these plots were declared in to the Income Tax department, alleging that these accusations were baseless and those who were questioning him should be investigated, added the report.
When asked about RCP Singh's possible expulsion from the party over the property issue, Kushwaha asked whether his activities made it seem like he was still in the party.
"He himself has taken a path where he has assumed that he's not in the party anymore," ANI quoted him as saying.
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and former Indian Administrative Services (IAS) officer RCP Singh were allegedly in a feud of sorts when Singh, a two-time Rajya Sabha MP from the party, was denied a ticket for a possible third time of service, after he was seen praising the Bharatiya Janata Party government at the Centre.
(With inputs from ANI, NDTV, and NDTV Hindi)
(At The Quint, we question everything. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member today.)