Taking a dig at the Congress leadership in Himachal Pradesh, Union minister Anurag Thakur on Monday said the state government was hell-bent on doing petty politics over relief funds instead of expressing gratitude.
His remarks come in view of Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu's claim that the rain-battered state has not received any assistance from the central government.
"It is surprising that people who take the help of the Centre are saying this...," Thakur said, adding that "it is unacceptable". Talking to reporters after visiting the damaged Ghaluwal bridge here, he asserted that the people of the state know who is helping them.
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"The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) will help those affected by the disaster and will not do any politics on the relief amount given to the state. We do not want to do any kind of politics on this issue. This is the time to help the people of Himachal," the information and broadcasting minister said.
A total of 118 people have died in rain-related incidents and road accidents in the hill state since the onset of monsoon on June 24, according to the state emergency response centre. The state has suffered a loss to the tune of Rs 4,415 crore.
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Detailing the Centre's intervention in aiding the state, Thakur said Air Force helicopters along with 13 National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) teams were sent for rescue operations, while a sum of Rs 361 crore was released in two installments to the state government.
The state, however, had rebuffed the claims with Revenue Minister Jagat Singh Negi on Sunday saying that the said amount was released annually by the Centre to the State Disaster Relief Fund (SDRF) and added that BJP leaders must know the facts and not lie to the people of the state.
Thakur also lashed out at Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann over his reported statement over water flowing from Himachal into Punjab, and said in such a time, "every state should fight this disaster by building relations with each other rather than making irresponsible statements".
Meanwhile, the Union minister and BJP's Hamirpur MP asked district officers to complete various development work in stipulated time and work swiftly with mutual cooperation for the people's welfare.
He also instructed for speeding up the construction work of PGI Satellite Centre in the state.
