Vice President and Rajya Sabha Chairman Venkaiah Naidu will decide on the disqualification of Janata Dal (United) rebel MPs Sharad Yadav and Ali Anwar himself rather than refer the matter to the Parliamentary Committee on Privileges, The Hindu reported on Tuesday. This will expedite the hearing process and is is in line with the party’s demand that the lawmakers’ disqualification should not be delayed by sending it to the parliamentary panel.
The decision may be made before the Parliament’s Winter Session begins mid-November, according to The Times of India.
In one precedent that The Times of India cited, former Bharatiya Janata Party MP Jai Narain Prasad Nishad, who fell out with the party in 2006, retained his parliamentary membership for two years and three months after former Vice President Bhairon Singh Shekhawat referred the matter to the privileges committee, which took 10 months to submit a report.
Yadav and Anwar broke away from the JD(U) after Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar parted from the alliance with the Congress and Rashtriya Janata Dal to join hands with the BJP in July. On September 5, JD(U) leaders RCP Singh and Sanjay Jha submitted a petition to Naidu, seeking the disqualification of the two MPs.
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