Nitish’s JD(U) to seek Sharad Yadav’s disqualification as Rajya Sabha MP

As per Schedule 10 of the Rules of Procedure and Business of the Rajya Sabha, a member can be disqualified if he voluntarily gives up the membership of the party by which he got elected.

The Janata Dal (United) war is getting knottier, with the official faction led by chief minister Nitish Kumar set to invoke Rajya Sabha rules to demand rebel party leader Sharad Yadav’s disqualification from the House.

RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav (right) with rebel Janata Dal-United (JD-U) leader Sharad Yadav during the 'BJP bhagao, desh bachao' rally at Gandhi Maidan in Patna on Sunday. Lalu’s elder son Tej Partap Yadav is also seen. (PTI)

However, the Yadav faction has also decided to seek the disqualification of the MPs of the Kumar faction, quoting the same Schedule 10 of the Rules of Procedure and Business of the Rajya Sabha, as per which a member can be disqualified if he voluntarily gives up the membership of the party by which he got elected.

“Yadav has defied the party’s official line by attending RJD leader Lalu Prasad’s rally at Patna today (Sunday). He had been specifically instructed to not attend the rally. His decision amounts to an ‘anti-party activity’. We will be writing to Rajya Sabha chairman (and Vice-President) M Venkiah Naidu to demand Yadav’s disqualification,” party general secretary K C Tyagi told HT.

Ostensibly, the official faction has taken to this route (Schedule 10) to bring about the speedy disqualification of Yadav as a MP, as the conventional process of expelling him would have allowed him to continue as an unattached member of Parliament’s Upper House.

“For Schedule 10 to be invoked, the party will need to furnish documentary evidence to establish that a member has been involved in anti-party activity. If the Rajya Sabha Chairman is satisfied with the evidence furnished, such a member can be disqualified,” a senior Rajya Sabha official said.

The rebel faction argues that Nitish Kumar, in deciding to dump the “Mahagathbandhan” to align with the BJP, had violated the earlier decisions of the party’s national council.

“The MPs belonging to the official faction are liable to lose their membership under Schedule 10 of the Rules of procedure,” said Javed Raza, general secretary of the Yadav faction.

Both factions have also decided to approach the Election Commission to seek claims over the party election symbol — the arrow.