Bihar floods: JD(U) targets Giriraj Singh for criticising Nitish Kumar

New Delhi, Oct 06: A day after Union minister and BJP leader Giriraj Singh criticised chief minister Nitish Kumar for his 'inept' handling of the Patna floods, the Janata Dal (U), the saffron party's coalition partner in Bihar, hit back by claiming that he is not qualified to make such an observation.

"Giriraj Singh is not even comparable to a speck of dust on Nitish Kumar's feet. One does not become a leader just by chanting the name of Lord Shiva every now and then," JD(U) spokesman Sanjay Singh was quoted by PTI.

Singh, who was formerly a member of the state cabinet, said, "Jab taali sardaar ko, to gaali bhi sardaar ko" (the leader gets the praise as well as the blame), when asked about the chief minister and his deputy Sushil Kumar Modi coming under attack over the inundation of several parts of the city following torrential rainfall last week.

Singh had also said in his Lok Sabha seat of Begusarai that the NDA 'owed an apology to the people of Patna'.

JD (U) spokesman Rajiv Ranjan Prasad countered the Union minister with facts to point out that it was largely the BJP which was responsible for the crisis in Patna.

JD (U) national general secretary and chief spokesman K C Tyagi also put the Union minister in his line of fire and accused him of undermining the coalition government in Bihar.

"Giriraj Singh has become a habitual offender. He is causing more damage to our alliance than Tejashwi Yadav (leader of the opposition in state assembly) could be capable of."