Hold talks with Nepal for permanent solution to Bihar floods: Lalu tells BJP govt

Patna, Sep 8 (PTI) RJD president Lalu Prasad on Tuesday voiced dissatisfaction with the BJP government's flood control measures in Bihar and stressed the need for a "straight talk" with Nepal since swollen rivers originating in the neighbouring country often cause devastation in the northern part of the state.

The former chief minister, who came out with a social media post, also called for a "permanent solution" to the calamity that strikes many parts of the state every year.

"There must be a straight talk with Nepal on river management. This is an issue that had been raised even by late Karpoori Thakur. The problem calls for a permanent solution," said the RJD supremo, referring to his mentor who was the CM in the 1970s.

Prasad also shared a video clip of his own parliamentary speech in 2011, stating that it was "proof that Lalu has fought for Bihar all through".

In the video, Prasad can be heard stressing the need to hold talks with Nepal, "an issue that Karpoori Thakur too used to raise", and claiming that by harnessing its rivers properly, the neighbouring country will be able to increase its power generation capacity while north Bihar will be spared devastation and soil erosion.

"We must look beyond offering food grains for Rs 2 per kg to flood victims", the witty leader can be heard saying in his trademark style.

Prasad also claimed, "Bihar is reeling under the worst floods in a decade. But the state government is only making excuses, with its coffers empty and financial distress is extreme."

Notably, the RJD president's son and heir apparent Tejashwi Yadav, who is the leader of the opposition in the state assembly, had recently written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, seeking financial assistance to Bihar and declaration of the floods as a "national disaster".

Prasad also alleged that the BJP-led NDA has 30 MPs from Bihar, but they seem "incapable of fighting for the rights of their state".

"In contrast, during 2004-09, when the RJD had 22 MPs, and I was railway minister, we prevailed upon the Congress-led government to secure Rs 1.44 lakh. We did so with the help of the then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and UPA chairperson Sona Gandhi," recalled the 78-year-old leader.

Training his guns at arch rival Nitish Kumar, who was then the chief minister, Prasad claimed that the generous support from the Centre helped the JD(U) president "burnish his own image, though while he was a Union minister (in the government headed by late Atal Bihari Vajpayee), he ensured that Bihar was penalised for being ruled by his opponents".