Patna, Aug. 24: Politics over floods took centre-stage in the Assembly today, as the RJD's Abdul Bari Siddiqui and deputy chief minister Sushil Kumar Modi engaged in a war of words over Prime Minister Narendra Modi's proposed August 26 visit to review the flood situation.

"Sushil Kumar Modi said the Prime Minister was coming to Bihar on his request. There were floods in Bihar earlier too. Why didn't Prime Minister Modi come then," Siddiqui asked, accusing the deputy chief minister of indulging in one-upmanship over the chief minister.

Modi, who was in the House, clarified he was deputy chief minister and part of the government. "I invited the Prime Minister as a representative of the Bihar government," he said, challenging the RJD to cancel its scheduled August 27 rally. He said the RJD was insensitive to the plight of the flood victims.

The Assembly proceedings were disrupted for the third consecutive day, as the RJD demanded acceptance of an adjournment motion moved by it to discuss floods. "Hundreds of people have died and have even been denied the dignity of cremation or burial. There is no relief and rescue work or arrangements for medical care. The government has totally failed to tackle the flood situation," Siddiqui said.

BJP minister Nand Kishore Yadav said Siddiqui and his chief, Lalu Prasad, should visit flood-hit areas instead of keeping themselves busy in the rally. RJD MLAs reacted saying the chief minister was only making aerial surveys while nothing was happening on the ground.

Speaker Vijay Kumar Choudhary again requested the RJD to raise the matter in another forum. "We can have a two-hour-long debate on the floods in which we can discuss every aspect and the government will reply," Choudhary said. But the RJD rejected his plea and its MLAs started to enter the Well of the House, Parliamentary affairs minister Srawan Kumar accused Siddiqui of not following the rules of House business. "The government is prepared to answer all your questions, but it should be brought in in a proper form", Srawan said. But as RJD MLAs continued to create ruckus, the Speaker adjourned the House.

For the past two days, RJD MLAs have disrupted House proceedings over the Srijan scam, drawing criticism from NDA leaders who said the party was least concerned about the floods that have hit over one crore people.

With Prime Minister Narendra Modi scheduled to visit Bihar on August 26, a day before the RJD's rally, the criticism has became sharper. It is no surprise then that the RJD changed track on Thursday and raised the issue of floods in Bihar.

The result was that both legislative Houses remained disrupted throughout the day.