Kerala Oppn charge on relief baseless: Minister

Thiruvananthapuram, July 30 (UNI) Kerala Finance Minister T M Thomas Issac today said Leader of the Opposition Oommen Chandy's statement, blaming the state government for not getting Central relief for natural calamities was without any facts and asked the Opposition to join hands with the ruling Front to fight for the benefits.

''Kerala has asked for relief from the National Calamity Contingency Fund (NCCF) and not from the Calamity Relief Fund (CRF).

The Opposition leader is confusing between the two,'' he told reporters here.

Asked about Mr Chandy's allegation that the state was not getting relief as the allotted amount for relief was not spent, Mr Issac said ''we have sought relief from the NCCF and for this, no conditions are set by the Centre. It is for the relief from the CRF that certain conditions are stipulated.'' Moreover, the Centre had fixed Rs 95 crore as relief for the state under the CRF and there would not be any changes in this issue, he said.

Earlier, Mr Chandy dismissed the charge of Chief Minister V S Achuthanandan that the Centre was neglecting the state's demands.

Referring to the threat by the Chief Minister that he would protest before the Prime Minister's residence, he alleged that the state government had not fully utilised the fund sanctioned by the Centre for natural disasters.

UNI