Assam CM appeals MLAS, MPs to donate for flood-affected

Guwahati, Sep 11 (UNI) Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi today called on all MLAs of the state to donate one month's salary to flood -affected people and urged MPs to provide Rs ten lakh each from MP LAD fund.

Mr Gogoi would also discuss the flood scenario with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi when he meets them at New Delhi on Saturday, a release informed here today.

Taking a dig at the Opposition after the latter demanded the Prime Minister's resignation over alleged failure to mitigate the state's flood woes, he said the Opposition was trying to derive political mileage out of the flood issue.

Defending the Prime Minister, Mr Gogoi said, '' The party (AGP) is launching a tirade against Dr Singh to divert people's attention from its internal strife and their abject failure on all fronts when they were in power. '' He said the government would soon come with a white paper on what the AGP and BJP had done for the state when they were in power and what the Congress had achieved in contrast.

He maintained that the state had received massive fund for all developmental and allied activities under the Congress governments.

'' We have Rs 783.74 crore as on today, which is enough to deal with flood relief, '' he stated. Mr Gogoi said the erosion and flood threat to river island Majuli was taken up with the Prime Minister during his recent visit.

It was under the initiative of Dr Singh alone that the task force was constituted to tackle flood and erosion problems in the state, he said.

He also took the lead to constitute the North East Water Resources Authority, the Chief Minister added. He urged the state Assembly Speaker to constitute an all-party delegation for visiting the flood -affected areas to see the relief measures.

The Chief Minister's appeal for donation from the MLAs and MPs came on the very day when Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee was reported to have told Assam Congress MP Kirip Chaliha that the appeal for Bihar flood donation was triggered after the Chief Minister had approached him. Mr Chatterjee had maintained that no such approach was made from the Assam Chief Minister.

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