Rs 1,600 crore in name of flood relief gross insult to Punjabis: Congress leader Surjewala

Chandigarh, Sep 10 (PTI) Congress leader Randeep Singh Surjewala on Wednesday alleged that "mere" Rs 1,600-crore assistance announced by the Centre for flood-hit Punjab was a "gross insult" to the Punjabis.

Haryana, also hit by heavy rains, was not even considered for relief by the Union, he said.

"In Punjab, the loss assessment is more than Rs 20,000 crore. In comparison, the announcement of a mere Rs 1,600 crore in the name of flood relief is a gross insult to Punjabis. This is a living proof of BJP's anti-Punjab attitude," the party's general secretary alleged.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday announced a Rs 1,600-crore assistance for Punjab as he reviewed the damage in the state battling its worst deluge since 1988.

He announced the assistance for the border state in addition to Rs 12,000 crore already in the state's kitty.

Modi also announced an immediate relief of Rs 1,500 crore for landslide-hit Himachal Pradesh as he visited both states on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, Surjewala said Himachal Pradesh alone needs more than Rs 15,000 crore for infrastructure restoration, in addition to Rs 10,000 crore for disaster relief.

"In such a situation, announcing only Rs 1,500 crore to Himachal in the name of relief and shrugging off responsibility by the Modi Government is a cruel joke," Surjewala posted on X.

He said that the floods caused a massive loss to the farmers in Punjab, Himachal, and Haryana, and led to the death of more than 100 people across the three states.

"In Haryana alone, there has been a loss of more than Rs Rs 20,000 crore and property, tube-wells, crops, cattle, houses, shops and industries have suffered damage.

"But the visit of Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi to Punjab and Himachal on September 9 has sprinkled salt on the wounds of the flood-affected people of all the three States instead of giving relief.

"The reality of flood devastation in Haryana has been erased from the map of flood relief," he alleged.

Surjewala said that when Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Saini himself said that only the low-lying areas in Haryana were inundated, then it was no surprise that Modi too "neither took the trouble of coming to Haryana nor gave Haryana a single penny." "This is despite the fact that in Haryana, 19 lakh acres of standing crops have been destroyed, 5,728 villages are flood-affected, 11 cities and 72 towns are flooded, thousands of cattle have been washed away, lakhs of houses and tube wells have been damaged, more than 40 people have lost their lives, more than three thousand acres of agricultural land has been washed away, more than one thousand industries have been submerged in more than five feet of water," he claimed.

"Yet Modi Ji and Shri Nayab Saini think that nothing has happened," he said.

"The country's PM and Haryana's CM, both are responsible for the neglect and misery of Haryana," he added.

Surjewala accused the BJP of turning its back to Haryana.

On Punjab, Surjewala said, "The Modi Government, as always, is punishing the Punjabis for rejecting the BJP… It was the spirit and service of the brave people of Punjab that they faced the floods firmly and are still facing them." PTI SUN VN VN