Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) National President Lalu Prasad Yadav on Saturday, 22 August launched a sharp attack on Janata Dal-United (JD-U) Working President Sanjay Jha over the Farakka Water Treaty, calling him a political 'novice' and accusing the JD-U leadership of misreading the historical and geographical dimensions of the decades-old water-sharing dispute. The exchange has reignited a bitter inter-party row in Bihar over floods, drought, and the management of the Ganga.

Lalu's Broadside Against JD-U

Without naming Jha directly in his public remarks, Lalu Prasad alleged that the JD-U leader was making statements about the treaty without adequately examining the facts. The RJD supremo claimed his party had anticipated the adverse impact of the Farakka Barrage on Bihar decades ago and had consistently opposed it both inside Parliament and through public protests.

In a post on social media platform X, Lalu Prasad also targeted Nitish Kumar, alleging that the former Bihar Chief Minister had remained silent on the Farakka issue in Parliament and had failed to engage with it as a long-term concern for the state. He shared a video of an earlier Parliament speech in which he had demanded the cancellation of the treaty, describing it as against India's national interest.

Lalu Prasad also advised JD-U leaders to consult documents maintained by Bihar's Water Resources Department, data on water availability in the Ganga, and the implications of the agreement with Bangladesh before making public statements. He referred to letters written to the Central government by Jagdanand Singh, who served as Bihar's Irrigation Minister at the time, as evidence of the RJD's early opposition to the barrage.

Jha Turns the Tables on RJD

JD-U Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Jha, who has been consistently raising concerns over the alleged adverse impact of the Farakka Barrage on Bihar, pushed back sharply. Jha pointed out that Lalu Prasad Yadav was an influential political figure at the Centre when the United Front government signed the water-sharing agreement with Bangladesh in 1996, and questioned why stronger opposition was not mounted by the Bihar government at that time.

According to Jha, had Bihar firmly opposed the agreement during negotiations, the state might have avoided what he described as three decades of combined flooding and drought. His remarks sought to shift accountability squarely onto the political leadership that held sway when the treaty was finalised.

The Farakka Fault Line in Bihar Politics

The Farakka Barrage, constructed on the Ganga near the West Bengal-Bangladesh border, has long been a contentious issue for downstream Bihar. Critics argue the barrage has contributed to recurring flooding in north Bihar by raising the riverbed, while simultaneously reducing water availability during dry seasons. The 1996 Ganga Water Treaty between India and Bangladesh, which governs water-sharing at Farakka, has periodically resurfaced as a political flashpoint in the state.

This is not the first time the Farakka issue has been weaponised in Bihar's political arena, but the current exchange is notable for its intensity and the direct involvement of senior leaders from both the RJD and JD-U — two parties that were once coalition partners and now sit on opposite sides of the state's political divide.

What Comes Next

Both sides appear unlikely to stand down. The RJD has framed the issue as one of historical record and institutional memory, while the JD-U is using it to question the RJD's credibility on governance during the 1990s. With Bihar facing another active flood season, the Farakka debate is expected to remain a live political issue in the weeks ahead, potentially feeding into broader opposition narratives ahead of the next electoral cycle.