Railway Minister and RJD chief Lalu Prasad on Wednesday undertook an aerial survey of several flood-affected areas in North Bihar and questioned the wisdom of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar for visiting Mauritius at a time when floods had wreaked havoc in more than 12 districts in Bihar.

Nitish is on a goodwill visit to Mauritius for the last one week and is slated to return late Wednesday evening.

However, in his absence, the torrential rain for the last 15 days, coupled with huge discharge of water by Nepal, has made life miserable for the people of this state. With the government’s own admission, more than 60 lakh people have been badly hit in Muzaffarpur, Sitamarhi, Darbhanga, Samastipur, Saharsa, Bhagalpur and Champaran.

Language problem

Mincing no words in slamming Nitish, Lalu said, “Who asked the Bihar CM to visit Mauritius? Usko to Bhojpuri bhi nahin aata hai (Nitish can’t even speak Bhojpuri).” The RJD chief’s satire come in the background of thousands of Bhojpuri-speaking settlers in Mauritius. After taking stock of the flood situation in an Army chopper, Lalu, on a serious note, said the Bihar Government was insensitive towards six million flood victims.

“The situation is very grave but the state government has not sought any help from the Centre,” lamented Lalu, who was accompanied by Union Rural Development Minister Raghuvansh Prasad Singh.

Coming down heavily at the state government for not initiating any relief measure in flood-affected areas, the union minister said, “Millions of people reeling under the effects of the flood were saying that Nitish might bring relief materials from Mauritius.”

Meanwhile, former CM Rabri Devi, while conducting a dharna to protest water-logging in Patna, hurled barbs at her successor. “While flood victims are going without food, Nitish is enjoying the beaches of Mauritius,” she said.