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Tejashwi Yadav targets Centre over Bihar floods, alleges discrimination in relief
In Short
While relief and rescue operations are underway in several parts of the state, the situation has also triggered a fresh political confrontation between the opposition and the NDA governments at the Centre and in Bihar.
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Floodwaters from the Ganga and several other rivers have inundated low-lying areas across Bihar
Patna: Floodwaters from the Ganga and several other rivers have inundated low-lying areas across Bihar, affecting lakhs of people and intensifying demands for greater government assistance.
While relief and rescue operations are underway in several parts of the state, the situation has also triggered a fresh political confrontation between the opposition and the NDA governments at the Centre and in Bihar.
Leader of the Opposition Tejashwi Yadav has sharply criticised the Central Government over what he described as its alleged failure to provide adequate assistance to flood-hit Bihar.
In a post on X, Yadav compared the Centre’s response to rainfall and disasters in Gujarat with its response to the ongoing flood situation in Bihar.
Yadav alleged that even limited rainfall in Gujarat had prompted an immediate response from Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah, including coordination with the state government and the deployment of the Air Force and National Disaster Response Force (NDRF).
He also referred to an earlier flood situation in Gujarat, claiming that the Prime Minister had conducted an aerial survey, announced a Rs 500-crore package and deployed the Army, Air Force and NDRF for relief and rescue operations.
He further claimed that the families of victims were provided Rs 2 lakh in assistance.
Comparing this with the situation in Bihar, Yadav alleged that more than 50 people had died, thousands of cattle were missing, losses had run into thousands of crores, and around 45 lakh people had been affected.
“Now look at Bihar: over 50 people have died due to floods, thousands of cattle are missing, losses run into thousands of crores, and 45 lakh people are affected; yet, let alone providing aid, neither the Prime Minister nor the Home Minister has uttered a single word,” Yadav said.
“Neither Modi nor Shah had spoken to Bihar’s Chief Minister over the phone to discuss the flood situation,” he further alleged.
Yadav questioned what he described as a disparity in the Centre’s response to Gujarat and Bihar.
“Why is there such discrimination against our Bihar?” he asked, alleging that the Central Government responds rapidly to disasters in Gujarat but remains inactive when large numbers of people are affected by floods in Bihar.
Yadav also raised the issue of compensation for deaths caused by lightning strikes.
He claimed that hundreds of people die from lightning strikes in Bihar every year, but that lightning has not been included in the list of national disasters, leaving victims without Central compensation.
He contrasted this with the assistance he said was provided for rain-related deaths in Gujarat.
The RJD leader also criticised Bihar’s BJP and NDA leaders, particularly the state’s MPs and Union ministers, for what he described as their silence over the flood crisis.
Yadav recalled that former Bihar chief ministers Lalu Prasad Yadav and Nitish Kumar had, despite their political differences, previously joined hands to raise issues concerning Bihar’s rights during times of crisis.
“Now, however, the 30 MPs and seven Union Ministers are all mute, deaf, and blind; they cannot even speak up for their own rights,” he alleged.
Yadav said the opposition had been raising the issue since the beginning of the crisis and had also written to the Prime Minister seeking assistance for the flood-hit state.
“If a package is received from the Centre, it goes to the government—tell me, what personal gain is there for me in this?” he asked, arguing that his demand for Central assistance was motivated by concern for Bihar rather than political interests.
Yadav further accused BJP leaders of believing that people in Bihar could be placated with short-term assistance immediately before elections.
He alleged that BJP leaders were effectively saying that people could be left without adequate attention for most of the term and then offered food grains and cash shortly before elections.
Expressing concern over the scale of the floods, Yadav said it was “deeply shameful” that millions of people had been affected while, according to him, there was no adequate assistance or assurance of additional support from the Centre.
“Just think—why is this the case? Setting politics aside, I ask: why?” Yadav said, alleging that Bihar was being treated unfairly despite its contribution to the nation.
