Speaker Chatterjee accepts resignation of Janata Dal (United) lawmakers

New Delhi, Nov.11 : Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee accepted the resignation of five Janata Dal-United (JD-U) MPs from Bihar on Tuesday, days after they announced it in protest against the attacks on north Indians in Mumbai by Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) activists.

The five MPs are Prabhunath Singh, Rajiv Ranjan Singh 'Lalan', Kailash Baitha, Meena Singh and George Fernandes.

The party has seven Lok Sabha MPs, including one from Uttar Pradesh and one from Lakshadweep.

The MPs had handed over their resignations to Lok Sabha Secretary General P D T Acharya on Friday.

Chatterjee received the resignations on Monday.

The JD (U) leaders had alleged that people were playing "vote bank politics" over the attacks in Mumbai. They also charged Prime Minister Manmohan Singh of becoming "inactive" and of being pressured by Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief and Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar.

ANI