Punjab House resolution slams Centre’s ‘poor’ relief

The Aam Aadmi Party government today moved a resolution in the Punjab Vidhan Sabha condemning the Centre for its “lack of response” and “failure” to sanction a special package of Rs 20,000 crore for the flood-ravaged state.

The resolution condemned the Prime Minister’s Office for “not responding to repeated requests” by Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann for a meeting with PM Narendra Modi to brief him about the “full scale of floods and the token relief of Rs 1,600 crore”.

The resolution, moved by Water Resources Minister Barinder Goyal during a special Assembly session that started today, stated that Punjab had been ravaged by the worst floods since 1988. “The current disaster has surpassed previous major floods that occurred in 1955 and 1978 in terms of scale and devastation, causing loss to over 20 lakh people, destroying crops on nearly five lakh acres and damaging private and public infrastructure,” it said.

Goyal said the CM, after a comprehensive assessment, formally demanded Rs 20,000 crore from the Centre to meet the crisis. “The state government, with deep regret, informs the House and the people of Punjab that even a part of the meagre Rs 1,600 crore has not yet been transferred to the treasury,” he said.

The MLAs of the ruling AAP also raised slogans against the BJP-led NDA government. Carrying placards reading “Modi ji da 1,600 crore da jumla (Rs 1,600 crore grant joke)”, the MLAs and a few ministers stormed the well of the House and continued the sloganeering till Assembly Speaker Kultar Singh Sandhwan adjourned the proceedings for 20 minutes.

With political pundits believing that the BJP was slowly gaining ground in the state, the saffron party, with only two MLAs in the 117-member House, remained the main target of the members from the treasury benches. Mann and Finance Minister Harpal Cheema trained their guns more towards the BJP MLAs than the main opposition Congress.

Accusing the Centre of being insensitive towards the state, Mann said the Rs 1,600 crore grant was a “cruel joke” when lakhs of Punjabis had lost their livelihood, homes and other assets in the worst-ever floods in decades. He exhorted all MLAs, including from the Opposition, to come together for rebuilding the state.

Cheema maintained the PM was “wrong” in saying that Punjab had Rs 12,000 crore in State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF). “The notional value of the interest accrued on SDRF was added to arrive at the figure. In the past three years, only Rs 1,582 crore has been received from the Centre,” he said.

After the treasury benches accused the main opposition party of being hand in glove with the BJP by raising the issue of Rs 12,000 crore SDRF grant, Congress MLA Barindermeet Singh Pahra said they were willing protest outside the PM’s residence for “not doing enough for the state”. CM Mann said he would first try to meet the PM.