PATNA, July 7: Political uncertainty in Bihar is likely to linger for at least a week with State Assembly Speaker Deo Narain Yadav saying he will take a decision on the issue of granting recognition to the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) by July 14 when the monsoon session of the House begins.The speaker has asked RJD president Laloo Prasad Yadav to submit a list of party MLAs and a copy of the Constitution of the newly formed party. Chief Minister Laloo Yadav as well as State Parliamentary Affairs Minister Raghunath Jha had yesterday requested Speaker and Chairman of the Legislative Council Jabir Hussain to recognise the Janata Dal Legislature Party (JDLP) in the two Houses of Legislature as Rashtriya Janata Dal Legislature Party (RJDLP).However, Narain Yadav's decision is considered to be of paramount significance as it would preempt any step by anti-Laloo JD MLAs to split the party without obtaining the requisite one-thirds strength to escape termination of membership under the anti-defection law.Asked if he had received requests from either Laloo loyalists or his opponents, the speaker said that his secretariat was collecting the papers which were yet to be presented before him. ``After seeing all the papers I will come to a conclusion which will please all the sides,'' he told reporters.Meanwhile, a delegation of BJP MLAs, headed by leader of Opposition in State Assembly Sushil Kumar Modi, today called on the speaker and urged him to terminate the membership of the chief minister following his ``voluntary decision'' to quit the JD and form a new party.In a memorandum to the speaker, the BJP leaders referred to the provisions of the tenth schedule which provides for termination of membership of a person quitting the party on his own accord. ``With the Constitution of RJD yet to be drafted, National Executive Committee still to be formed and Election Commission's recognition yet to be obtained there can be no justification for giving formal recognition to the RJDLP,'' it said.The memorandum said, ``At the most MLAs who have aligned with the new party may be declared unattached members of the House.'' It said that since Sharad Yadav was the duly elected president of the JD he alone was competent to officially communicate any decision about the JDLP.In other developments, State RJD president Kamal Paswan today appealed to the anti-Laloo MLAs to return to the ``real Dal''. He claimed that the party had not split in Bihar and that all the 166 MLAs were with the RJD.Meanwhile, Janata Dal's newly-elected president Sharad Yadav today said that efforts were being made to retain the JD government in the state despite claims made by Chief Minister Laloo Yadav that the majority of the legislators were with his newly formed RJD.He expressed the hope that most of the MLAs and MPs, who have reportedly joined the RJD, would come back to the party-fold as they have probably switched loyalties due to some compulsions.He reiterated that the sole purpose behind the launch of RJD just before the JD presidential election, was to divert people's attention from the fodder scam in which Laloo was allegedly involved. He added that Laloo should have stepped down from his office soon after the charge-sheet against him was filed by the CBI.
