Sharad Yadav, Ali Anwar's response sought on plea for scrapping their RS membership

New Delhi: The Rajya Sabha secretariat has asked the JD(U)'s rebel MPs, Sharad Yadav and Ali Anwar, to respond within a week to their party's petition that they be disqualified from the House for their "anti-party" activities.

After Yadav turned against party president Nitish Kumar's decision to ally with the BJP and attended an opposition rally in Patna, the JD(U) had urged Rajya Sabha Chairman Venkaiah Naidu to disqualify him and Ansari, who too had joined Yadav.

JD(U) general secretary Sanjay Jha said there was precedent of a member being disqualified from the Rajya Sabha after he attended opposition's events and cited the example of Jai Narain Prasad Nishad, a BJP member who had drifted toward the RJD.

"We have given documentary and other evidence of both the leaders' anti-party activities. That they have defied the party leadership and gone to the Election Commission seeking its symbol, is also an anti-party activity," he said.

Yadav was first removed as the party's leader in the Upper House. After he attended a Lalu Prasad-led RJD rally in Patna, the JD(U) moved to get him disqualified.

Yadav, who recently toured Bihar, had said he remains in the grand alliance, which includes the RJD and the Congress, and had accused Bihar Chief Minister Kumar of going against the party's resolution by allying with the BJP.

Claiming to represent the real JD(U), his faction has also approached the EC, seeking its symbol.

He claimed that the real JD(U) was with him and the one with Kumar was "sarkari JD(U)".

He was replaced by RCP Singh as the party's leader in the House.

Taking a dig at Anwar, Jha said he was elected to the Rajya Sabha on JD(U) ticket with support of BJP MLAs.