Rebel JD(U) MPs Sharad Yadav and Ali Anwar were disqualified from the Rajya Sabha on Monday, 4 December for “anti-party activities”.
Upper house chairman Venkaiah Naidu in his communication said they cease to be Rajya Sabha members with immediate effect.
Naidu agreed to the JD(U)‘s contention that the two senior leaders had “voluntarily given up” their membership by defying their party’s directives and attending events of opposition parties.
The JDU had sought their disqualification on the grounds that they had attended a rally of opposition parties in Patna in violation of its direction.
Anwar, while reacting to the news, said:
I received the information while I was addressing a meeting here in Rajkot. I will speak to Sharad Yadav ji and we will take a decision together. We will appeal at all those places where there is possibility for us to get justice.
Yadav had joined hands with the Opposition after JD(U) president and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kuamar dumped the Grand Alliance in Bihar and tied up with the BJP.
Yadav was elected to the House last year and his term was scheduled to end in 2022. Anwar’s term was to expire early next year.
The former JD(U) president, who is at present in Gujarat to campaign against the BJP, is expected to respond to his disqualification tomorrow.
The development also comes after the Election Commission recently recognised the Nitish Kumar-led JD(U) faction as the real party and granted it the ‘arrow’ symbol.
(With inputs from ANI and PTI.)
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