Congress President Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday said the Centre should extend more support to Kerala after it has been ravaged by rains and floods. Gandhi arrived in Kerala on Tuesday on a two-day visit. On Tuesday, he visited relief camps in Alappuzha district’s Chengannur – one of the worst affected areas.
“The extent of support that the central govt has given should be more,” Gandhi said in Kochi, according to ANI. “This is owed to the people of Kerala. It is their right. I am sad that central government has not given as much aid as they should.”
When asked if the floods were a man-made crisis, Gandhi said he would not comment on the nature of the crisis. “I have come here as a support and not to politicise the situation,” he said. The state’s Leader of Opposition, Congress MLA Ramesh Chennithala had said the Pinarayi Vijayan-led Left Democratic Front government was responsible for the worst floods in the state and that it was a man-made disaster, largely due to mismanagement of dams.
Gandhi said he spoken to Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and that the compensation promised to those affected by the floods should be delivered quickly.
In an apparent reference to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, Gandhi said there were two visions of India – a centralised vision and a decentralised vision. “One respects only one ideology, based out of Nagpur [and] other respects all different ideas, cultures, different people in this country. That fight is on,” he said.
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