NEW DELHI: Mufti Mohammed Sayed, member of the parliamentary board of the Janata Dal and Raya Sabha MP informed the Lok Sabha Speaker, Mr. Balram Jakhar, on Friday that he was a member of the Janata Dal and that he had severed his links with the Congress (I) Mr. Sayed is one of nine MPs belonging to the former Jan Morcha who had been suspended from the Congress (1).
Mr. Sayed’s letter comes in the wake of similar letters written to the speaker by the Janata Dal President, Mr. V.P. Singh the parliamentary board members, Mr. Arun Nehruand Mr. V.C. Shukla, and the General Secretary Mr. Arif Mohammed Khan.
While Mr. Singh is an independent member elected to the Lok Sabha last year, Mr. Nehru, Mr. Shukla and Mr. Khan are “unattached” members following their expulsion from the Congress (1). A member suspended from the Congress (I) is bound to face expulsion from the house for joining another party under the provisions of the Anti-Defection Law, Mr. Sayed who was elected to the Rajya Sabha two years ago has another four years to go as an MP.
Mr. V.P. Singh congratulated his former Jan Morcha colleagues for their “courageous” and principled stand. He had on Thursday urged all the office bearers of the Janata Dal who are legislators to make declarations to the presiding officers of legislatures they belonged to that they were members of the Janata Dal.
Mr. Singh said in a statement on Friday that those two had written to the speaker had shown that their commitment to the party was “unqualified”. Speaking about the letter Mr. Singh said that the former Jan Morcha MPs had shown that they were prepared to make the “maximum sacrifice” We have to ensure that the Janata Dal emerges as a unified organic political entity,” he stated.
Article extracted from this publication >> March 24, 1989
