NEW DELHI:An all-party delegation from Kerala on Thursday met Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh and urged him to release more aid for the flood-hit state. The delegation also urged him to allow foreign assistance.The 11-member delegation, comprising MPs from the Congress, CPM, RSP and Kerala Congress (Mani), apprised the Home Minister of the current situation in the state. Kerala, since August 8, is under the grip of the worst floods since 1924.
“Irrespective of party, we are united for rebuilding Kerala.We want more funds. We have asked the Home Minister to waive off the restrictions on foreign assistance. The Home Minister has assured us that he will speak to External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj in this regard,” senior Congress leader and former Defence Minister A K Antony said after the meeting.
The team included leaders such as Antony, K V Thomas, K C Venugopal, K Suresh, M K Raghavan from the Congress, P Karunakaran and P K Biju from the CPM, N K Premachandran of the RSP, Jose K Mani of the Kerala Congress (Mani) and Joice George, an independent.The Kerala leaders said Union Tourism Minister Alphons Kannanthanam, who is from the state, could not join them as he was away in China.The Centre had already allotted Rs 600 crore for flood relief after Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Home Minister visited the state.
According to a preliminary estimate, the loss and damage due to the rain fury were Rs 20,000 crore, but Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has said it would be much more.Union Minister of State for Finance Pon Radhakrishnan said on Wednesday that the Centre would consider all demands, including increasing the borrowing limit of the state, to raise funds for rehabilitation of flood victims and rebuilding the state.
A Central team is expected to visit Kerala soon to assess the damage caused and a decision on the assistance would be made after its report.