2 Indian lawmakers disqualified from upper house of parliament

NEW DELHI, Dec. 5 (Xinhua) -- Two Indian lawmakers Sharad Yadav and Ali Anwar were disqualified from upper house of the country's parliament, officials said Tuesday.

The legislators were disqualified after their party, Janta Dal-United (Public Front) filed a petition before chairman of upper house (locally called Rajya Sabha) seeking disqualification of its two members on ground that they had attended a rally of opposition parties in violation of its direction.

"Rebel Janta Dal (United) parliament members Sharad Yadav and Ali Anwar have been disqualified from the Rajya Sabha," an official said. "A communication from Chairman of the House M Venkaiah Naidu last night said they cease to be Rajya Sabha members with immediate effect."

The chairman agreed to the Janta Dal-United's contention that the two senior leaders had "voluntarily given up" their membership by defying their party's directives and attended events of opposition parties.

Both the leaders had opposed party president and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's decision to form a coalition with the Bharatiya Janata Party.

Yadav, a senior leader was elected to the House last year and his term was scheduled to end in 2022, while as Anwar's term was to expire next year.

Both the leaders are expected to respond to their disqualification, reports said. Enditem