Patna, Aug 21 (IANS) Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar Wednesday called Minister of State for Railways Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury a "fool" for blaming the state government for the train tragedy that killed 28 people.

"I can say that he has made a fool of himself. It was an irresponsible statement," Nitish Kumar told the media here.

Chowdhury had accused the Bihar administration of not alerting the railways about the large congregation of pilgrims in Khagaria district where a speeding train ran over the 28 pilgrims Monday.

If that had been done, the railways could have taken measures to prevent the disaster, he said.