Lalu advised to call off Nepal visit

KATHMANDU, Sept 4 - Indian Railway Minister and Rastriya Janata Dal (RJD) chief Lalu Prasad Yadav Thursday decided to cancel his proposed visit to Nepal following advice from the Indian ministry of external affairs. Yadav, the former chief minister of India’s north eastern state of Bihar, had unveiled his plans ...

According to sources, the visit was called off as the Indian capital New Delhi and Kathmandu are preparing for Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal’s first political visit to Delhi after assuming office.

Yadav had blamed his political rival and Chief Minister of Bihar Nitish Kumar for the breach in the Koshi river dam which subsequently inundated Nepal’s Sunsari district and various districts of Bihar.

Yadav had said that Nepal is not responsible for the floods in the north-eastern state of Bihar in India and the collapse of SaptaKoshi barrage. "Nepal did not release water which caused the flood. It was the state government's negligence which caused the misery," he said on Wednesday, the Economic Times website reported.

Against the backdrop of widespread media reports that Nepal released thousands of cusecs of water in the Koshi river, Lalu said that the state was unprepared to tackle the floods which caused devastation in catchments areas.

The Indian Railway Minsiter had said he would make a courtesy call to Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal as he has no "authority to take up the issue with him.