JD(U) suspends 21 for anti-party activities

Bihar, 15 August(Wishav Warta): Bihar’s ruling Janata Dal-United (JD-U) on Monday suspended 21 members, including former minister Ramai Ram, on charges of anti-party activities after they backed rebel leader Sharad Yadav, who has opposed Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s decision to tie up with the BJP.  Among the leaders suspended are Arjun Rai, a former MP from Sitamarhi. Bihar JD(U) President Vashistha Narayan Singh issued a statement naming the 21 who were stripped off their primary membership. The JD(U) on Saturday removed Sharad Yadav, who opposed the party’s decision to ally with the BJP in Bihar, as its leader in the Rajya Sabha and replaced him with R.C.P. Singh, a trusted lieutenant of Nitish Kumar. Differences between Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and Yadav surfaced after the former snapped ties with the Congress and the RJD, and allied with the BJP to form a new government in Bihar last month. Yadav, who is on a tour of Bihar, has said he still believes he is a part of the Grand Alliance with the RJD and the Congress. The JD(U) is not just Nitish Kumar’s party, but also his party, he has said. On Friday, the JD(U) suspended its Rajya Sabha member Ali Anwar Ansari from the parliamentary party after he attended a meeting of opposition parties convened by Congress chief Sonia Gandhi. Yadav also claimed that the real JD(U) was with him and the one with Kumar was ‘sarkari’ JD(U). Earlier on August 12, BJP president Amit Shah said in a tweet today that he had invited Kumar to join the ruling NDA.