Kerala floods: Centre refuses to accept overseas donation, state ministers say, why not 

India has refused to accept overseas donations for flood relief in Kerala, Thailand's Ambassador to India Chutintorn Sam Gongsakdi has said.

"Informally informed with regret that the Government of India is not accepting overseas donations for Kerala flood relief. Our hearts are with you, the people of Bharat," Chutintorn tweeted on Tuesday.

The United Arab Emirates, home to hundreds of thousands of Keralites, had earlier offered ₹ 700 crore as flood relief for Kerala.

The Maldives and Qatar also reportedly offered donations for the flood-ravaged state.

But high-level sources said that India will respond with "thank you" but "no thank you" to all these offers as internal resources are mobilized. This does not, however, extend to private contributions pouring in from all over the world, given the huge diaspora from Kerala, reported The Times of India.

India, through emails, has reportedly instructed all its missions abroad to decline offers of aid from foreign governments for the state of Kerala. Sources say that India, for now, has decided to stick to its 2004 policy -- won't accept aid unless India cannot handle the crisis.

According to India Today, in a note to the Indian missions, the Ministry of External Affairs has asked the envoys to express "appreciation" but point out that early indicators show that India has the "capacity" to meet the requirements of the people of Kerala.

It is important to note here that India did not accept any bilateral aid during the catastrophic Tsunami in 2004 or during the flash floods in Uttarakhand in 2013.

But in an interview to NDTV, Kerala’s finance minister Thomas Issac said that the centre should not deny others an opportunity to help Kerala since its own aid package is much less than what the state had requested for.

While Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, in an interview to The Indian Express said that the Centre should not hesitate in accepting the ₹700 crore aid offered by UAE, because UAE “cannot be considered as any other nation” as “Indians, especially Keralites, have contributed immensely in their nation building.”The chief minister had earlier said that the crown prince of Abu Dhabi had called up PM Modi and offered the financial help.

But the Centre denied having received any such offers and according to the officials, even if this offer is made, it, in all probabilities, will not be accepted, in keeping with the policies which India has followed for more than a decade now, NDTV reported.