New Delhi: The devastating floods in Bihar have taken on political colour with Chief Minister Nitish Kumar now facing heat from coalition partner BJP.
Union minister and senior BJP leader Giriraj Singh, known for his ‘no-holds-barred’ comments, Monday tweeted a video of JD(U) MLA from Matihani, Narendra Singh, in which he is blaming the state government and the Begusarai district administration for their lackadaisical attitude in dealing with the floods.
“A week ago, when I had warned some senior officers (with regard to floods and functioning of the administration), one of the Bihar ministers had taken their side. The negative impact of politicisation of officers can be seen today in the words of Matihani’s JD(U) MLA who has expressed his pain. I thank him for airing his grievances. If telling the truth means being rebellious, then I am a rebel,” Singh, an MP from Begusarai, wrote in his post.
हफ्ता पहले मैंने अधिकारियों को चेतावनी दी तो बिहार सरकार के एक मंत्री उसके पक्ष में आ गए,अधिकारियों का राजनीतिकरण का दुष्परिणाम आज मटिहानी से JDU के मा० MLA बोगो बाबू के पीड़ा के रूप में बाहर आया,पीड़ा व्यक्त करने हेतु कोटिशः धन्यवाद।
सच कहना अगर बगावत है तो समझो हम भी बागी हैं। pic.twitter.com/8jgMidol40— Shandilya Giriraj Singh (@girirajsinghbjp) September 30, 2019
Meanwhile, Singh held a meeting with the Begusarai district magistrate and superintendent of police Tuesday to take stock of the flood situation. He also gave directions to provide necessary medicines, start community kitchens and chalk out a plan for the coming days. He also held a meeting with local residents.
Several parts of Bihar have been reeling under floods for the past few days and according to reports, the death toll has reached 40.
Singh — a motormouth
This is, however, not the first time that Singh has targeted Kumar.
In June, Singh had taken a dig at Kumar and another alliance partner, Lok Janshakti Party chief and minister Ram Vilas Paswan, for organising an iftar party, wondering why they don’t celebrate Navratri with as much fervour.
But Singh is not the only BJP leader to have trained guns at Kumar.
Earlier last month, senior Bihar BJP leader and MLC Sanjay Paswan had said that Kumar should now step down and make way for a BJP chief minister.
“Yes, Nitish Kumar should now step down from the post of chief minister for BJP…we trusted him for 15 long years and he should now reciprocate the same for the BJP for at least one term,” he had said.
There has also been speculation that a section of the state BJP wants the party to go it alone in the assembly elections next year. But Kumar has rubbished such rumours.
In his address to the newly-elected members of the state legislative council on 18 September, Kumar had said: “All is well. Let me assure you that the NDA is on course to cross the 200-seat mark next year. Only those banking on turmoil in the alliance are again heading for trouble and a shock of their lifetime.”
Also read: Is Lalu son a BJP ally? Tejashwi Yadav’s tirade against Nitish raises question in RJD
BJP-JD(U) not on same page
The alliance partners have been at loggerheads with each other for some time now over a number of issues — with the latest being the BJP’s demand for a National Register of Citizens (NRC) in the state’s Seemanchal region.
Senior BJP leader and state minister Vinod Singh had last month said that “the government must consider implementing NRC to identify Bangladeshi infiltrators in Bihar’s Seemanchal region”.
The demand was vehemently opposed by the JD(U), which termed it an “irksome demand”.
Besides NRC, the two allies have disagreed on the issues of triple talaq and scrapping of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir.
Also read: Why senior BJP leader Sushil Modi is under attack from his own partymen in Bihar