Lallan Singh (top), Upendra Kushwaha

New Delhi, March 28: JD (U) president Sharad Yadav today suspended four MPs found guilty of indulging in anti-party activities during the last Assembly elections in Bihar.

Four MPs suspended from the primary membership of the party are Rajiv Ranjan alias Lallan Singh (Munger), Manganilal Mandal (Jhanjharpur), Sushil Singh (Aurangabad) and Rajya Sabha member Upendra Kushwaha. Sources said the suspension letter did not mention the time frame till which the punishment will last.

Sharad cracked the whip following findings forwarded to him by Bihar president of the party, Basistha Narayan Singh. A disciplinary committee constituted by the state unit had found 11 MPs guilty of engaging in anti-party activities during the Assembly polls last year and recommended action.

Seven other MPs, found guilty in the inquiry, were left out as evidence against them was not strong enough. The exclusion of Begusarai MP Monazir Hassan, however, surprised many as his wife Shabnam Parveen had contested on a Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) ticket against the official JD (U) candidate.

JD (U) sources said Hassan was spared as he belonged to the minority community and also since he had acknowledged his guilt before the party’s top leadership and vowed not to repeat the mistake.

Given the seriousness of the charges against the MPs, today’s action could be described as mild. In the past, similar action had been taken against two other MPs, Jagdish Sharma (Jehanabad) and Puranmasi Ram (Gopalganj), but the suspension was withdrawn in less than a year.

The penalised MPs will feel threatened only if the party leadership approaches Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar and Rajya Sabha chairman Hamid Ansari to end their membership. Party insiders said while chief minister Nitish Kumar was keen for this extreme step, Sharad was resisting it.

Lallan Singh has been charged with openly sharing the dais with Congress party leaders and campaigning for its candidates. Sushil Singh and Upendra Kushwaha stood guilty for working against the official JD (U) candidates. Jhanjharpur MP Manganilal Mandal was allegedly caught on phone telling people close to him to vote for Opposition RJD candidates. Sushil Singh’s brother had also contested on a RJD ticket.