‘No special reception for Modi in Assam’, PMO’s instruction to BJP leaders

Guwahati, August 1: In India, where our leaders often get grand welcome during their visit to any place even when it is a tragedy-stricken area, the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) has some strong message against such vulgar display of pomp and power.

As Prime Minister Narendra Modi is all set to visit flood-hit Assam on Tuesday, the PMO has asked the leaders of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the state to stay away from giving any special reception to the visiting dignitary.

Assam BJP president Ranjeet Kumar Dass said no special reception will be arranged for Modi during his visit to Assam on Tuesday.

"Only six or seven members of the state BJP unit will receive the PM at Lokpriya Gopinath Bordoloi International Airport in Guwahati. We have received instructions from the PMO not to arrange any reception programme for him. The PMO said Modi is coming to Assam only to review the flood situation. This way, he will pay homage to those who lost their lives in the flood," said Dass.

"By this decision Modi has shown his love for the people of Assam. In the previous government, no PM had taken such a stern decision," he added.

Dass said the state government had prepared an audio-visual presentation on the flood situation.

The PM's day-long visit will be a packed one with at least three meetings in the capital city, Guwahati, where he is going to meet chief ministers, senior ministers and officials of several northeastern states to take stock of the flood and landslide situation in the region.

As per reports, Modi will arrive in Guwahati at 10 am and hold three meetings with the CMs of Assam, Manipur and Arunachal Pradesh before flying back to Delhi in the evening. Manipur and Arunachal have been hit by flash floods and landslides.

This year, floods in Assam have killed 85 people and affected over 20 lakh people in 29 of the state's 32 districts.

"The PM's visit is mainly to find a permanent solution to the flood problem that Assam is facing," state finance minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said at a press conference.

The Centre has already announced an ex-gratia of Rs 2 lakh each under the Prime Minister's National Relief Fund for the relatives of people killed and Rs 50,000 to seriously injured persons in the recent flood in Assam.

According to Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA), about 5,000 people are still affected in Lakhimpur and Jorhat districts and 366 people are taking shelter in four relief camps in the two districts.

OneIndia News