The Janata Dal United leadership on Wednesday said they would seek information from sugarcane industries minister Firoz Ahmed about his "emotionally surcharged" statements accusing the agriculture department of corruption.

Ahmed, the JDU MLA from Sikta in West Champaran who is popularly known as Khurshid, lost his cool and lambasted a department official on Tuesday while stating that his son-in-law had to pay a bribe for certification of seeds.

The JDU, which had on Tuesday said the minister should have refrained from airing his views in public, reiterated that Ahmed ought to have first discussed the matter within the government.

"Though I have not heard what the minister said, I feel he was emotionally surcharged. I will find out the reason and the party will act, if it has to, on the basis of that. However, one must realise that as minister, he has power and authority. The minister should have come via the proper channel and raised his concerns with proof. He could have talked to the minister of the agriculture department or bureaucrats. He should have remembered that he too is a part of the same government. However, for now all we can say is that the party will take steps only after analysing the facts," Bihar JDU president Bashishtha Narayan Singh said.

Sources in the JDU said they didn't want such statements made that could jeopardise relations with allies RJD and the Congress. The agriculture department, against which Ahmed has levelled the allegations, is headed by Ram Vichar Rai of the RJD.

"The government is running in alliance and statements like this aren't necessary. If this becomes regular, relations could sour. Hence, it is important to nip such controversies in the bud," another JDU leader told The Telegraph on condition of anonymity.

The RJD has so far desisted from commenting on Ahmed's allegations. Ramchand Purbe, the state RJD chief, refused to speak on the matter. "I am out of Bihar and in Varanasi now... No comments," Purbe told The Telegraph when he was informed about Ahmed's charges.

Minister Rai said he would speak to his colleague. "I am in my constituency and don't have any idea of what he (Ahmed) has said. However, I will have a word with my colleague about the problem he has faced and investigate. He should provide me with a written document about his problem," Rai told The Telegraph.

Ahmed too appeared chastened on Wednesday. "I am busy with important party work in my constituency. I will talk later," he told this paper.