Officials ignoring my seat, says Giriraj Singh

Patna: Firebrand BJP leader and Union minister Giriraj Singh has kicked up a political row by blaming the state administration for ignoring his constituency, which has been affected by the floods.

Mr Singh who is known for his differences with Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar has been touring his parliamentary constituency Begusarai since Saturday. While meeting his supporters in one of the flood-affected areas, he lashed out at the sub-divisional officer (SDO) for arriving late and threatened to launch a protest outside his office if he didn’t set up camps in the flood-hit areas.

“You are responsible for providing relief to the people of your subdivision. Act as an officer and not a political leader. People told me that camps were set up by the administration in 2016 but this year they are complaining about your indifferent attitude. Treat everybody in an equal manner and if you fail to do so I will protest outside your office”, Mr Singh told the officer and also addressed him as “babu” (a term used for addressing bureaucrats).

Mr Singh later told reporters that he might also raise the issue before the chief minister and chief secretary, who — according to him — are equally responsible for the situation in his constituency.