The decision on termination of membership of four JD(U) dissidents for ‘anti-party activities’ was on Wednesday deferred by two days after the rebels met the Speaker and sought time till the end of coming monsoon session of the Assembly to reply to the notice.
Speaker Udai Narayan Choudhary called the four again on Friday when he would convey his decision on their plea.
Gyanendra Singh Gyanu, who has emerged as leader of the dissidents group and among four served show cause, told reporters that they sought time till the end of coming monsoon session of the Assembly to reply as they would be busy during the session.
He said “The Speaker called us on Friday when he would give his decision on our plea for time.”
The monsoon session of Assembly starting on June 27 would last till July 31.
In addition to Mr. Gyanu, three others, Ravindra Rai, Neeraj Singh Babloo and Rahul Kumar, met the Speaker and put forward the same plea of more time to reply.
Three other MLAs, Poonam Devi, Ajit Kumar and Raju Kumar Singh, accompanied the four to the Assembly.
Ravindra Rai told reporters that he got the notice only on June 23 and there was little time for preparing the reply after consulting constitutional experts.
Rattled by activities of dissidents during the recent Rajya Sabha bypolls in Bihar, the ruling JD(U) had on Sunday decided to crack the whip on four of them and recommended to the Speaker to end their membership for ‘consistent anti-party activities’.
JD(U) Chief Whip Shrawan Kumar had given a letter to the Speaker for cancellation of membership of the four.
The four were part of 18 dissident JD(U) MLAs against whom Shrawan Kumar had submitted report to party chief Sharad Yadav, Chief Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi and former chief minister Nitish Kumar recommending disciplinary action against them.
The four, who were in the forefront in the dissident camp, were proposers, polling and election agents of two independent candidates, real estate baron Anil Sharma and Sabir Ali, against the party’s official nominees of the Rajya Sabha bypoll.
The dissidents who were up in arms ever since induction of 14 ministers in the Manjhi ministry on May 20 have contested show cause for termination of their membership.
