PATNA: Bihar minister Rajiv Ranjan Singh‘s statement that Rats make holes in river embankments and this is one of the reasons for floods has drawn sharp criticism from RJD chief Lalu Prasad who alleged that “two-legged rats ate up crores of rupees” sanctioned for the protection of embankments.

During Friday’s meeting to review the flood situation, Singh had said that rats make holes in embankments, causing seepage which leads to floods.

Attacking the Nitish Kumar government over the statement, Lalu tweeted on Saturday: “Nitish should first tell whether the floods in Bihar have been caused by four-legged rats or the two-legged ones (government officials) who have eaten up crores of rupees allocated for embankment construction.”

On Friday Lalu had tweeted: “The responsibility of floods is on rats, not on Nitish! Hail the mouse government!” However, Singh clarified on Saturday: “I’d like to say that the flood guidelines for 2017 also mention Rat Holes. The guidelines say those patrolling the embankments should check rat holes by putting pressure on the soil. The Centre’s guideline also mentions rat holes. I never said floods in Bihar are caused by rats,” Singh said.