JD(U) MP Jai Narayan Prasad Nishad and (below) BJP president Nitin Gadkari

Patna, June 27: Bypassing chief minister Nitish Kumar, a JD(U) MP’s letter to the BJP president, Nitin Gadkari, highlighting officials’ corrupt practices in the ministries headed by the leaders of the latter’s party has not gone down well with his own party.

The MP, Jai Narayan Prasad Nishad, pointed out in his letter to the BJP chief that efforts were being made by the officials of the animal and fish resources and co-operative departments in Bihar to promote corrupt practices by misguiding the BJP ministers Giriraj Singh and Sushil Kumar Modi.

Giriraj is the minister of animal and fish resources department. Deputy chief minister Modi holds the additional charge of the co-operative department.

The MP from Muzaffarpur urged Gadkari to use the network of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) for getting the points raised in his letter verified.

Though the MP’s letter, as appears from its words, talks only about the issues concerning fishermen, his decision to address the letter to the BJP national president and not the chief minister on the issue drew flak from his party.

JD(U) national general secretary Shivanand Tiwari told The Telegraph over phone from Delhi: “It does not look good if a JD(U) leader chooses to address his letter to the president of another party when the chief minister belongs to his party.”

He said instead of writing to Gadkari, the JD(U) MP should have brought the issue to the knowledge of the chief minister first. Had the chief minister not taken steps, he could have approached the JD(U) national president.

“I fail to understand what made Nishad write directly to the BJP president,” added Tiwari.

He also took exception to Nishad’s request to Gadkari for getting the things inquired by the RSS.

“Such things are verified by the government,” the JD(U) national vice-president said.

Nishad, however, justified his decision. “I chose to write to Gadkari as both the departments are being headed by the BJP leaders,” he said, adding that the Nitish government had done its job by enacting the act to safeguard the interest of the fishermen community.

The letter of the MP says though the state government enacted an act to set up a committee of fishermen in every block and only those belonging to the fishermen community could be its members, the corrupt officials kept the ministers of the co-operative and the animal and fish resources departments in the dark and took their permission to set up ad hoc committees.

The letter says only 150 ad hoc committees were set up. Nishad claimed that these panels would be able to take care of only 2,000 water bodies out of the 28,000 in which fish farming is done.

“The remaining 26,000 water bodies would go in the hands of non-fishermen and 22 lakh fishermen would become jobless. It would force them to join hands with Maoists, which would be a blot for the state government,” the letter reads.

The MP concluded his letter with a request to the BJP president that he should direct the deputy chief minister and the minister of animal and fish resources department to extend the last date of settlement of water bodies by a month and the intervening period should be used for conducting elections of fishermen co-operatives.