AAP slams PM over flood relief, calls ₹1,600-cr package ‘paltry’
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Wednesday escalated its attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the relief package announced by him for flood-hit Punjab, questioning the norms for the utilisation of disaster management funds
Chandigarh : The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Wednesday escalated its attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the relief package announced by him for flood-hit Punjab, questioning the norms for the utilisation of disaster management funds.
The ruling party’s charge was led by state unit president Aman Arora and finance minister Harpal Singh Cheema, who described the Prime Minister’s visit to the state’s flood-affected areas as a political performance rather than a genuine effort to help.
Arora, while calling the ₹1,600-crore relief package “paltry”, said that the Prime Minister spoke of ₹12,000 crore in the State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF) as if it is a blank cheque for the state.
The AAP leader claimed that this was a deliberate misrepresentation as these funds are shackled by the Centre’s own rules, which offer peanuts to flood victims. He said that chief minister Bhagwant Mann had written to the central government 10 days ago to revise the SDRF norms, seeking revision of “inadequate” compensation of ₹4 lakh for life lost, ₹74,000 for injury, ₹2500 for destroyed household essentials, and ₹1.2 lakh for fully damaged house,
Claiming that the PM’s package cannot even cover the compensation for standing crops destroyed by unprecedented floods, he reminded the central government that the BJP’s state leadership had demanded ₹50,000 per acre in compensation for crop damage from the state government.
{{/usCountry}}Claiming that the PM’s package cannot even cover the compensation for standing crops destroyed by unprecedented floods, he reminded the central government that the BJP’s state leadership had demanded ₹50,000 per acre in compensation for crop damage from the state government.
{{/usCountry}}“Despite the detailed presentation by the state’s two cabinet ministers and senior officers to the Prime Minister in Gurdaspur on Tuesday, the relief package falls short of addressing the state’s massive losses,” he added.
{{/usCountry}}“Despite the detailed presentation by the state’s two cabinet ministers and senior officers to the Prime Minister in Gurdaspur on Tuesday, the relief package falls short of addressing the state’s massive losses,” he added.
{{/usCountry}}Finance minister Harpal Singh Cheema called the Prime Minister’s visit a “theatrical exercise” devoid of empathy and substance. “While the Prime Minister offered sympathy and aid to Afghanistan within hours, it took him 30 days to remember the people of Punjab who have made immense sacrifices for our country,” he alleged.
{{/usCountry}}Finance minister Harpal Singh Cheema called the Prime Minister’s visit a “theatrical exercise” devoid of empathy and substance. “While the Prime Minister offered sympathy and aid to Afghanistan within hours, it took him 30 days to remember the people of Punjab who have made immense sacrifices for our country,” he alleged.
{{/usCountry}}Cheema flays Modi for ‘Hindi’ remark
The AAP leader also strongly reacted to an incident where PM Modi reportedly told cabinet minister Hardeep Singh Mundian “aapko Hindi samajh nahin aati” (you do not understand Hindi) when the latter demanded a package of ₹20,000 crore. “We respect the Hindi language which most of us have learned in schools. But to belittle a cabinet minister of an elected state government on linguistic grounds is not just arrogance, it’s a betrayal of federal dignity,” he claimed. He also alleged that the PM met BJP leaders who were portrayed as flood victims during the meeting.
