GUWAHATI, July 18 - Accusing the Central and State governments of adopting a lackadaisical attitude with regard to providing relief to the victims of the current wave of floods, the All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF) today demanded that Assam�s flood issue be declared as a national problem.
AIUDF president and Lok Sabha member Badruddin Ajmal said here that he would meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the ongoing Monsoon Session of Parliament and seek a special package for relief and rehabilitation of the flood victims of Assam.
�Our MP Radheshyam Biswas raised the issue of Assam floods twice in the Lok Sabha today before the House was adjourned. Tomorrow I am leaving for New Delhi and I will meet the Prime Minister in this regard,� said the MP from Dhubri.
He added that Barpeta Lok Sabha MP Sirajuddin Ajmal also had earlier demanded a Rs 20,000 crore package to solve the flood and erosion problem of Assam. �We will again seek a special package from the Centre. Assam flood should also be declared as a national problem,� he said.
Ajmal lambasted the State government�s poor handling of the rescue and relief operations in the flood-hit areas.
�The Chief Minister is saying that relief is on the way. The Finance Minister is saying that Rs 400 crore is available for flood relief. So why are funds not being released. The Finance Minister is, in fact, calling upon the NGOs to help in the relief effort,� he said.
Ajmal also castigated the Centre and said no senior minister has so far bothered to come to Assam to take stock of the situation here.
