NEW DELHI: Prime Minister- Narendra Modis announcement that he “Will be in Srinagar on Diwali, 23rd October and will spend the day with our sisters and brothers affected by the unfortunate flood. His tweet- meant to be a gesture of solidarity towards the victims of the recent floods in J&K, however received mixed reactions.
While state Chief minister Omar Abdullah welcomed it in a tweet that said, “I appreciate the gesture of @narendramodi to mark Diwali by spending it with the flood affected people of J&K in Srinagar, the worst hit, the Peoples Democratic Partys (PDP) spokesman Naeem Akhtar said in a tweet, “But it would have been very thoughtful if he had decided to be here for Eid also which was observed immediately after floods.
Not to be left behind in the game of reactionary one-upmanship, the Congress party, curiously represented by Member of Parliament Shashi Tharoor- whom the party had on October 13 removed as its spokesman for his alleged “pro-Modi stands including unilaterally accepting the PM’s invitation to be a brand ambassador of Swachh Bharat campaign, expressed disapproved of the Prime Minister’s plan. Tharoor said: “Diwali in Srinagar is a great idea but it would have been better if there wasn’t an election looming in the state, in his tweet.
While the Congress has questioned the timing of the PMs visit to the state- coming as it does on the back of a two impressive victories in Maharashtra and Haryana state elections- where his BJP, routed sitting Congress governments, and the inevitable link to impending polls in Jammu and Kashmir this year-end, where the BJP is hoping to make major gains to consolidate its good showing in Jammu this May, it was hard to discern whether Mr. Tharoors vocal disapproval was a laboured attempt at seeming neutral vis-a-vis Mr. Modi.
The Congress party’s Kerala unit had lodged a complaint against Mr. Tharoor for praising Modi. The Kerala PCC leadership had demanded “appropriate action” against what it described as Tharoor’s adulatory statements about Modi, which it claimed had hurt Congress workers in Kerala, who had worked sincerely and tirelessly for his victory from the Thiruvananthapuram Lok Sabha seat.
However, Omar Abdullah, whose ruling National Conference party spilt bitterly with its ally- the Congress, following its resounding defeat in the Lok Sabha elections this May, and is going it alone in the upcoming state polls, rebuffed the PDPs pessimism, in questioning why Mr. Modi had chosen Diwali over Eid to visit the state.
The CM said those questioning the timing of the PMs visit on Diwali instead of Eid, would also be cursing the government due to restrictions necessitated by either strike called by the separatists or security arrangements made for such high profile visits.
“The people asking why Diwali & why not Eid would’ve been the same people cursing because of the restrictions caused by hartal/security,” he said.
“Let’s just appreciate that @narendramodi is in Srinagar on his festival and not at home celebrating as he normally would have been doing,” he added.
Sources said the PM may announce a special package during his day-long visit to Srinagar on Thursday, 23 October. While Modi has already announced a Rs 1,000 crore package for flood relief in the state, the Omar Abdullah-led government has sought a Rs 44,000 crore special financial package for providing funds for rehabilitation.
During the visit, Modi is likely to meet delegations from various sections of society at Raj Bhavan in Srinagar.
TOI reports that the Modi government’s handling of the September floods had come in for praise even from rivals like Congress general secretary Digvijay Singh. Besides promptly announcing financial help, Modi also instructed Union ministries to help with the relief and rescue effort.
Ahead of the visit, an inter-ministerial team, comprising representatives from various ministries, is in the state to assess the damage caused by the recent floods.
The delegation includes officials from the ministries of home, finance, agriculture and rural development. They met the state government officials and affected people to collate information about the damage caused to dwellings, crops, livestock, roads, bridges, embankments and other government properties.
Floods have resulted in the loss of 285 lives and affected around 3.5 lakh houses, of which 95,000 have collapsed, according to official estimates. The floods have impacted some 25 assembly constituencies including eight in Srinagar city.
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