Patna: Senior JDU leaders RCP Singh and state unit president Bashishtha Narayan Singh on Sunday attacked rebel party leader Sharad Yadav for announcing a parallel JDU team ahead of the decision on his Rajya Sabha membership.
The Rajya Sabha chairman, Vice-President Venkaiah Naidu, has called Sharad and another rebel JDU MP, Ali Anwar, to present their case on October 30.
At a news meet in Delhi on Saturday, Sharad had announced elections for JDU chief on March 11, 2018, and released a list of interim office-bearers, including Gujarat leader Chhotu Bhai Vasava as working president and Ali Anwar as a vice-president. He also announced former minister Ramai Ram as Bihar unit state president of the party.
"I feel like laughing at him. He claims to be a veteran parliamentarian but he is just making a mockery of Indian politics," RCP said. "Sharad ji should say for which party he held the national executive committee meeting. He should tell which party the leaders whose names he announced belong to.
"Nobody can claim that I am president of this party and general secretary of that party," he added. "First the Election Commission gives the recognition then only you can claim. What Sharad ji did yesterday was crossing all limits of established political norms. If the Election Commission has recognised that the JDU belongs to him, he should show the document."
Both Sharad and Anwar went against Nitish after he tied up with the BJP. Sharad's faction approached the Election Commission to stake claim on the party but it has dismissed their petition twice.
"We have submitted a petition before the Rajya Sabha chairman to disqualify him from the membership of the upper House on September 2, 2017," RCP said. "We have heard Anand Sharma of Congress, Sitaram Yechury of CPM and TariqAnwar of NCP claiming that first the matter should have been sent to the ethics committee. But we have not charged Sharad ji of any unethical work or corruption. Our base for his disqualification is that he has voluntarily left the party."
Bashishtha echoed RCP, and said Sharad's claim was baseless.
