Patna, Aug 22 (IANS) Political tensions in Bihar have intensified over the Farakka Water Treaty, with Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) National President Lalu Prasad Yadav on Saturday launching a sharp attack on Janata Dal-United (JD-U) Working President Sanjay Jha, whom he described as a political "novice".
Without naming Jha directly in his remarks, Lalu Prasad alleged that the JD-U leader lacked a proper understanding of the historical and geographical aspects of the Farakka issue and was making statements about the treaty without adequately examining the facts.
The RJD supremo claimed that the party had anticipated the adverse impact of the Farakka Barrage on Bihar decades ago and had consistently opposed it both inside the Parliament and through public protests.
In a social media statement on X, Lalu Prasad also targeted Nitish Kumar, alleging that the former Bihar Chief Minister had failed to focus on long-term issues during his political career and had remained silent on the Farakka issue in Parliament.
He advised JD-U leaders to examine documents maintained by Bihar's Water Resources Department, data concerning water availability in the Ganga and the implications of the agreement with Bangladesh before commenting on the issue.
He also referred to letters written to the Central government by Jagdanand Singh, who was Bihar's Irrigation Minister at the time.
Sharing a video of one of his earlier speeches in Parliament, Lalu Prasad recalled that he had demanded the cancellation of the treaty, saying that it was against India's national interest.
He alleged that the agreement effectively allowed a substantial share of Ganga water to flow to Bangladesh while failing to adequately account for the long-term consequences for Bihar.
Meanwhile, JD-U Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Jha has continued to raise concerns over the alleged adverse impact of the Farakka Barrage on Bihar, keeping the political dispute over the water-sharing agreement alive.
Jha has said that Lalu Prasad Yadav was an influential political leader at the Centre when the United Front government signed the water-sharing agreement with Bangladesh in 1996.
He questioned why stronger opposition was not raised by the Bihar government at that time.
According to Jha, had Bihar firmly opposed the agreement when it was being negotiated, the state might not have been forced to face what he described as the combined problems of recurring floods and droughts over the past three decades.
The JD-U leader's remarks have further intensified the political exchange with the RJD.
While Lalu Yadav has accused the JD-U leadership of failing to understand the historical and geographical implications of the Farakka agreement, Jha has sought to shift responsibility to the political leadership that was influential when the agreement was signed.
The Farakka issue has consequently emerged as a fresh point of confrontation between the RJD and JD-U, with both sides trading accusations over Bihar's long-standing problems related to flooding, water availability and the management of the Ganga.