Patna, Mar 17 (UNI) Senior RJD leader Tejashwi Prasad Yadav on Monday sharply criticised Union Minister Giriraj Singh for the shifting of the regional centre of the Indian Institute of Maize Research (IIMR) from Begusarai to Karnataka.

Yadav said the regional centre of IIMR was established in Begusarai at the initiative of RJD chief Lalu Prasad in 1997 but it was now being shifted to Karnataka. Giriraj Singh was MP from Begusarai but he did nothing to prevent the shifting, he pointed out.

"Singh should feel ashamed that he talks only to ignite tension between Hindus and Muslims and does nothing to protect the interests of farmers of the state", the RJD leader said adding that there was virtually no industry in Bihar but an institution like IIMR was also being shifted.

If IIMR is shifted, then the votes of farmers should also be shifted from NDA, he quipped. The decision to shift IIMR has exposed the "true face" of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in public and the hollow promises made to them by him, he remarked. UNI KKS SSP