'Pray for rain': Bihar Agriculture Minister tells BJP leaders

With Bihar facing a drought-like situation, state Agriculture Minister Kumar Sarvjeet on Monday took a jibe at leaders of the BJP, asking them to pray to god for rain.

His statement came to media persons in Gaya after he was asked about the drought-like situation in Bihar.

"The people of the BJP always build temples... I have asked them to pray for god as well. May god listen to them and rains take place in Bihar. I have asked them several times... you also ask them."

The monsoon has created havoc in Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, and Delhi but very less rain has been reported in Bihar and most of the state's 38 districts are hit by drought.

"In the last few months, several Babas (self-styled god men like Bageshwar Baba) came to Bihar but no one had given sermons to farmers and prayed for good rain,” Sarvjeet said.

"The state government working under the leadership of Nitish Kumar and Tejashwi Yadav are keeping an eye on every situation. Our government is giving free seeds of maize to farmers to compensate for the loss in paddy. This facility is for those farmers who are interested in substitute farming. We are also making efforts to provide subsidies in diesel and power supply for hassle-free irrigation," he said.