Two bridges on the Ganga are complete and ready for use, but the BJP believes their inauguration is being held back because of RJD chief Lalu Prasad's upcoming birthday.

One bridge connects Ara with Chhapra while the other spans the river between Digha (Patna) and Sonepur (Saran). Their inauguration has been scheduled for June 11 - Lalu's birthday.

Senior BJP leader Sushil Kumar Modi on Friday flagged what he said was a "deliberate delay" in opening of the bridges as "an attempt to insult the people of Bihar by inaugurating them on the birthday of Lalu, who is a convict in the infamous fodder scam".

Modi, who has levelled a series of allegations of corruption against Lalu and his relatives, also demanded that the two bridges should be dedicated to the public on June 5, which is observed as Total Revolution Day. He asserted that the "BJP would vigorously protest the move to inaugurate them on Lalu's birthday".

Lalu's younger son and deputy chief minister Tejashwi Prasad holds the charge of the road construction department, whose agency Bihar Rajya Pul Nirman Nigam Limited (BRPNNL), constructed both the bridges.

The bridges would come as a big relief for lakhs of people and vehicles that keep getting stuck in humongous jams as the dilapidated Mahatma Gandhi Setu connecting Patna and Hajipur is under repair.

"Tejashwi is adamant on gifting the two bridges to his papa (Lalu) on his birthday. Are they his family property," Modi asked. "Chief minister Nitish Kumar should make clear whether all this is being done with his concurrence. The two bridges were initiated when the NDA was in power in Bihar. Lalu had no role to play in them."

Queried by The Telegraph, principal secretary, road construction, Amrit Lal Meena said: "We are giving finishing touches to the two bridges on the Ganga to make them ready for inauguration. They are critical for transportation in Bihar and we plan to ready everything by June 10."

Amrit refused to say why June 11 was picked as the inauguration date, or who decided on it.

However, senior BRPNNL officials told The Telegraph on condition of anonymity that both the bridges "are completely ready for inauguration."

"They could be inaugurated even tomorrow if the government wants to," a senior official of the bridge construction corporation said.

Repeated attempts to reach Tejashwi on his cell phone failed as it was switched off.