Opposition leader Rahul Gandhi said the devastation caused by Assam floods was heartbreaking and charged the double-engine Bharatiya Janata Party government in Assam and Centre have failed to manage the situation.
The Opposition leader reached Manipur on Monday and he visited a relief camp set up at a higher secondary school in Jiribam. The Congress leader will be visiting two other relief camps in Manipur and meeting the governor later today. En route to Manipur, he visited a relief camp sheltering those affected by floods at Fulertal in Assam.
"The extreme devastation caused by flooding in Assam is heartbreaking. Assam Congress leaders apprised me of the situation on ground - 60 plus deaths, 53,000 plus displaced and 24,00,000 affected. These numbers reflect the gross and grave mismanagement by BJP's double-engine government which came to power with the promise of a ‘flood-free Assam’. Assam needs a comprehensive and compassionate vision - proper relief, rehabilitation, and compensation in the short term, and a pan-Northeast water management authority to do everything necessary to control floods in the long term,” Gandhi tweeted.
Rahul Gandhi arrived at Silchar Airport on Monday for his first visit to conflict-stricken Manipur after the Lok Sabha polls. The Congress leader is visiting the state after fresh violence was reported in Jiribam.
Gandhi visited a relief camp set up at Jiribham Higher Secondary School in Manipur and interacted with victims sheltered there. Debabrata, Manipur Congress Working President said, “Rahul Gandhi came here to meet those affected by the recent conflict in Jiribham. After the prime minister said that normalcy had returned to Manipur, everybody believed it. But the fact is that the relief camp inmates here narrated their stories about how devastated they are and how nothing has been done by the government. He heard from (relief camp) inmates about their story."
Earlier at the airport, the opposition leader was received by Pradesh Congress leaders of Assam and Manipur. Members of the Assam Congress presented a memorandum on the Assam floods to the opposition leader and urged him to raise the issue in parliament. The Assam Congress complained the ‘double-engine’ BJP government has failed the state.
Assam Pradesh Congress Committee president Bhupen Borah urged Rahul Gandhi to intervene and get adequate relief and compensation for the severe losses incurred due to the deluge in Assam.
“We will be grateful to you for carrying our voice of agony to the Centre”, he said. “Assam should get a package to tackle the grim situation, 'as the state government has failed to get adequate funds from the Centre, a double failure of the double engine government,” Borah added.
Gandhi will return to Silchar airport from Jiribam, and fly to Imphal for the next leg of his Manipur tour.
The Opposition leader will visit relief camps in Churachandpur and Moirang later today. He has also sought a meeting with Manipur Governor at Raj Bhavan.
-with inputs from agencies.
