(From left) JD (U) Rajya Sabha MP Ali Anwar, Bihar party president Basishtha Narayan Singh and chief minister Nitish Kumar at the party’s state council meeting in Patna on Thursday. Picture by Ashok Sinha

Patna, Feb. 10: The ruling Janata Dal (United) leadership today indicated strong action in the offing against the rebel party MPs and legislators who earlier worked against the official candidates during the Assembly elections and have been questioning the “authority” of the disciplinary committee.

“The ones who wish to live in the party have to abide by the party discipline. If they are not ready to fall in line with the party’s rules and regulations they should quit it. If they do not quit, the party will take action against them,” state party chief Basishtha Narayan Singh announced at the JD (U)’s executive meeting.

Significantly, Singh gave the strong message to the rebels in the presence of chief minister Nitish Kumar. Nitish is believed to have asked the state party chief to be “firm” with the rebels. It is also for the first time that the leadership publicly and officially has spoken against the rebels.

Senior MPs and MLCs among around 300 leaders who are apparently in the party’s firing line for their act of defiance include the former state JD (U) chief and Munger MP, Lallan Singh, party’s Rajya Sabha MP, Upendra Kushwaha, MLC, Prem Kumar Mani.

After the Assembly results were out, the JD (U) constituted a disciplinary committee headed by the party MLA, Gyanendra Singh Gyanu, which served showcause notices on the “defiant” leaders.

While Monazir Hasan, Manganilal Mandal, Sushil Kumar Singh (all MPs) replied to the showcause notices, Lallan, Upendra and Prem questioned the authority of the disciplinary committee.

While Prem Kumar Mani asserted that the party leadership was “humiliating” him by appointing a junior leader (Gyanu) as the chairman of the committee, Lallan and Upendra questioned the committee’s authority by arguing that only the parliamentary party and the national party president (Sharad Yadav) enjoyed the authority to issue showcause notices on them.

But Basishtha Narayan Singh clarified: “The leaders indulging in anti-party activities had no moral right to mock at the committee constituted as per the party’s rules and regulations. There is no scope for playing to the gallery.”

Except for Lallan, Prem Kumar Mani and Upendra Kushwaha, most of the MPs including Monazir Hasan, Manganilal Mandal and Sushil Kumar Singh have replied to the showcause notices, furnishing one alibi or other in their defence.

While Sushil Kumar Singh (Aurangabad MP) who had fielded his brother, Sunil Kumar Singh on an RJD ticket from Aurangabad and allegedly campaigned for him, has pleaded that his brother had contested the seat against his wishes.

Monazir too has stated that his wife, Shabnam Parveen, contested the Munger seat on an RJD ticket on her own and he had no role in her decision. Manganilal Mandal is believed to have made a “pretext” of protracted illness for staying away from the campaign during the polls.

Asked to comment on the likely action, Gyanu said: “The disciplinary committee has been examining the replies of the leaders in question on objective basis. It will recommend suitable action without minding who the leader is. It will not hesitate in recommending appropriate action against the defiant leaders.”