Shivanand Tiwari Demands Explanation from RJD
Patna: Aug. 12, 2007
Janata Dal (U) national spokesperson Shivanand Tiwari, on Sunday, fired back at the Railway Minister and Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) chief Lalu Prasad Yadav saying the former two Chief Ministers of Bihar should provide details of deaths caused by flood during the 15 years of RJD rule in the state and the number of people reported dead in police firing during the same period.
"Before accusing the NDA government of not doing enough for the flood victims in Bihar, the RJD chief should disclose the number of deaths caused by flood during the Lalu-Rabri regime in the state. He should also release the number of deaths caused by police firing or lathi charge before he points fingers towards the Nitish government which, by all estimates, is doing a much better job to combat flood and its effects than the RJD government ever did during its 15 years of rule in Bihar," Tiwari said at a press conference.
Accusing the Lalu-Rabri duo of mismanaging flood relief operation in Bihar, Tiwari said it was under the Rabri rule that the state witnessed the biggest fraud in flood relief management.
"The people of Bihar would like to know how many promises Lalu Yadav kept that he made each year during flood period. Sadly, the Railway Minister does not believe flood is a natural problem as was evident from his 2004 statement when he said flood was in fact good for Bihar because it gave the poor an opportunity to enjoy the best fish in the country," the JD-U leader said.
Tiwari further said that the opposition was politicizing flood situation in Bihar to score cheap political points in spite of the fact that even the UN admitted the 2007 flood in Bihar was the worst in last 100 years.
"Bihar leaders in the UPA government have failed to bring a single penny in federal aid for the flood victims in the state, yet they blame the NDA government for not doing enough for them. Interestingly, Rabri Devi, who never gets tired of complaining against the Nitish government, has not visited her own constituency even once to see how people there were coping with the flood situation," Tiwari said.
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