Modi’s Rs 1,600-cr an injustice, Punjab needs comprehensive package: Rahul

Congress leader and Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi on Monday renewed his demand for a special comprehensive relief package for flood-ravaged Punjab, calling the Rs 1,600-crore aid announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi grossly inadequate.

“Punjab has suffered losses of nearly Rs 20,000 crore due to the floods. In such a situation, the initial relief package of Rs 1,600 crore announced by the Prime Minister is an injustice to the people of Punjab. Millions of homes have been destroyed, crops over more than 4 lakh acres have been ruined, and a large number of animals have been swept away,” Gandhi wrote on X.

On 16 September, Gandhi had written to Modi after visiting flood-affected districts of Punjab. In the letter, he described the devastation as “catastrophic,” saying: 'Over 4 lakh acres of paddy crop have been destroyed, and over 10 lakh animals have perished. Lakhs of people, mostly from marginalised communities, have lost their homes. The flood has also rendered vast tracts of land uncultivable in the near future.'

Citing preliminary estimates of at least Rs 20,000 crore in losses, Gandhi urged the Centre to conduct a swift damage assessment and deliver a “comprehensive relief package.”

Punjab chief minister Bhagwant Mann also lashed out at the Centre’s aid announcement, calling it “a cruel joke” on the state. “What can be done with Rs 1,600 crore? The initial loss is Rs 13,800 crore. Rs 1,600 crore is just a drop in the ocean,” Mann said, adding that the Union government had already withheld Rs 8,000 crore from the state’s Rural Development Fund.

On 9 September, Prime Minister Modi had announced Rs 1,600 crore in financial assistance to Punjab, in addition to Rs 12,000 crore already released for the state.

Additionally, Rs 240.80 crore was released by the Modi government to the State Disaster Relief Fund. An ex gratia compensation of Rs 2 lakh each for families of the deceased and Rs 50,000 for those seriously injured was also announced by the Union government.

Modi also announced long-term support under the PM CARES for Children scheme for children orphaned by the disaster.