Treason complaint against two Bihar ministers

A complaint alleging treason was filed against two Bihar ministers in a court here Monday for their remarks on last week's killing of five soldiers on the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir, a lawyer said.

A lawyer filed a case of treason in the Patna civil court against Bihar Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh and Rural Development Minister Bhim Singh for their remarks that they said hurt not only hundreds of thousands of army men but millions across the country.

Last week Bhim Singh said that those who were recruited for the army and police were expected to lay down their lives and Narendra Singh said that Pakistan had no hand in the killing of soldiers. Both the ministers later apologised for their statements.

Bihar's ruling Janata Dal-United (JD-U) Sunday issued show-cause notices to the two for making irresponsible statements in public.

The JD-U president Sharad Yadav said that the statements were "against the policy, ethics and norms of the party" and asked them to explain within seven days why disciplinary action should not be taken against them.