Even as he expressed concern over the delay in the nation-wide merger of Janata parties, State unit president of Janata Dal (S) [JD(S)] Mathew T. Thomas, MLA, has criticised the State unit of the Janata Dal (United) for manipulating the likely merger as a bargaining instrument within the United Democratic Front (UDF).
“It is bad politics,” Mr. Thomas told The Hindu after chairing the State committee meeting of his party here on Tuesday. He said differences among veteran Janata leaders in Bihar, which would soon go to polls, stood in the way of a ‘Janata Parivar.’
The State meeting of the JD(S), he said, discussed the programmes of the party and demanded strong action against the guilty in the bar bribery case. “We get to infer from the reluctance on the part of the accused in the bar bribery case to undergo polygraph test, just as those who raised the allegations have no qualms in doing so, that the bribery had really taken place. Given the fact that it was an arm of the government, the prosecution which demanded the test, the accused ministers should be ready to take it. Their reluctance in this regard is unacceptable,” he said.
