Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar and JD(U)s national president Sharad Yadav at the state executive committee meeting in Patna on Wednesday. Picture by Nagendra Kumar Singh

Patna, Feb. 9: Dissident MPs of JD (U) stayed away from the party’s state executive committee meeting held in the state capital today after last year’s Assembly elections which gave the ruling JD (U) a thumping majority in the lower House.

The dissident MPs from both the Houses of Parliament skipped the meeting that was attended by Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar, the party’s national president, Sharad Yadav, state president Vashishtha Narayan Singh apart from a host of party legislators and office-bearers.

Of the party’s 20 Lok Sabha members, Meena Singh, Ramsunder Das, Sharad Yadav, Ranjan Yadav, Maheshwar Hazari attended the executive committee meet, while six of three Rajya Sabha MPs N.K. Singh, R.C.P Singh and Anil Sahni were present on the occasion.

Party MPs conspicuous by their absence were Rajiv Ranjan Singh Lalan, Monazir Hasan, Mangni Lal Mandal, Sushil Kumar Singh and Upendra Kushwaha who had gone out openly against the party’s line during the Assembly elections.

Many of the MPs have been served showcause notices for not toeing the party line. Sanjay Singh and Neeraj Kumar, both members of the legislative council, briefed the media after the first day’s meeting and defended the MPs who could not attend the meeting.

“Many of the party MPs turned up for the meeting and it is expected that a majority of the MPs will come for tomorrow’s state council meeting where the party state president’s nomination will be ratified by the council,” Neeraj Kumar said.

Asked what action the party intended to take action against the rebel MPs, Neeraj Kumar said: “The matter is pending before the disciplinary committee constituted by the national president and many of the MPs have turned up before it.”

He said until and unless the report, which was expected to be submitted by the disciplinary committee by the end of the month, was submitted to the party president, nothing could be done in this regard.

Quoting the chief minister, Sanjay Singh said corruption and price rise would be the two major issues in the next Lok Sabha elections in which the Congress would be wiped out for failing to tackle the issues.

Comparing the issue of corruption with that of 1974 and 1989, when the Congress government had to bite the dust, the chief minister said the issue of corruption has once again taken centrestage and the party would agitate on the issue, Singh said.

Talking on the abolition of MLA funds, Kumar said the legislators can now work freely for the genuine cause of the people without any pressure for carrying out work from the funds as the state government was working on an alternative mechanism wherein the work can be done on the recommendations of the legislators.

JD (U) national president Sharad Yadav said UPA-II has been embroiled in a number of scams such as 2G, Commonwealth Games, Adarsh Housing Society, whereas UPA-I had a tainted and chargesheeted person as minister, Sanjay Singh said, while quoting Yadav.