Tribune News Service
New Delhi, August 18

The Congress on Saturday demanded national calamity status for Kerala floods, and also announced a month-long campaign against supposed irregularities in the Rafale deal.

The decisions were taken at a meeting of Congress
General secretaries and in charges, legislature party leaders and state chiefs chaired by party president Rahul Gandhi here on Saturday.

The meeting discussed the grave situation of floods in Kerala and urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi not to “discriminate between BJP and non BJP states in matters of flood relief”.

Congress media head Randeep Surjewala said after the meeting: “A relief of Rs 100 crore is not enough where the damages have exceeded Rs 2,000 crore. The meeting urged the Government to declare Kerala floods a national calamity and extend help”.

This morning PM Narendra Modi announced RS 500 crore relief for Kerala in addition to Rs 100 crore announced earlier by the Home Ministry.

Congress governments in Punjab (gave Rs 10 crore), Karnataka (Rs 10 crore) and Puducherry (Rs 1 crore) have announced relief amounts.

Gandhi is learnt to have also urged the party MPs and MLAs to donate a month’s salary for Kerala flood relief besides asking all party leaders to hold agitation against alleged corruption in the Rafale deal at district and state headquarters.

Surjewala said the agitation will see the participation of all CWC members and senior leaders who will expose the “corruption in Rafale deal”.