Drought slipped into the domain of competitive politics today as Congress chief ministers sought central assistance amounting to over Rs 12,000 crore and charged the Centre with discriminating between Congress and National Democratic Alliance (NDA)-ruled states in granting financial aid, politicising what was essentially a problem of human suffering and misery.
In a deliberate attempt to needle the Congress, Union finance minister Jaswant Singh, at the BJP national council meeting, said though the Centre had provided 50,000 tonnes of foodgrain for drought management, states had lifted only 30,000 tonnes. Congress chief ministers rejected this claim.
Addressing a press conference in which the chief ministers of Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh and Karnataka were present, advisor to Congress president Sonia Gandhi, Ambika Soni, said Sonia Gandhi would present a memorandum to the Prime Minister on Monday and ask him not just for help but also that the Centre should not create a divide between NDA supporters like Andhra Pradesh and non-NDA states on an issue like drought management. "Andhra Pradesh gets what it demands because it is supporting the government. So do Haryana and Orissa. This is an unfair game to play" Soni said. She said a special team would be created in the Congress comprising technocrats to provide specialised advice on drought management to Congress-ruled states.
More From This Section
Each chief minister had his own tale of misery to tell. Although there have been floods in several districts of Maharashtra, chief minister Vilasrao Deshmukh said the last crop had either withered away for lack of water, or had been carried away by floods. He said all districts had been declared drought-stricken and demanded central assistance to the tune of Rs 2100 crore.
In Chhattisgarh, chief minister Ajit Jogi said rains normally failed in September, but this time, they had failed in July, so no sowing had been possible. He demanded Rs 2,180 crore as interim relief, including 1.1 million tonnes of rice. Madhya Pradesh asked for Rs 698 crore.
Karnataka chief minister S M Krishna said over 60 talukas were facing water shortage and water was now being transported to these regions. Karnataka asked for Rs 550 crore. Rajasthan, the worst affected, sought Rs 6,115 crore as interim relief, chief minister Ashok Gehlot said. He said drought was so acute that there was no difference between families living above and below the poverty line. Gehlot said the Prime Minister himself must survey drought-stricken states. The chief ministers demanded a review of calamity relief guidelines.
All chief ministers said though they had demanded approximately the same funds the last time there had been a drought, they had got just 5 per cent of what they had sought from the Centre.
They rejected the government's reported announcement of Rs 700 crore as drought relief and a special cell to monitor foodgrain distribution in flood and drought-hit states as a pittance.