Congress Accuses Central Govt of Double Standards in Flood Relief Allocation to Himachal

Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh said, "Yesterday, the self-anointed non-biological Prime Minister said that Viksit Bharat depends on viksit states. Wow, such profundity. If only he put the taxpayer's money where his mouth is!"

"After the disastrous floods of 2023, the government of Himachal Pradesh repeatedly demanded that the Union government declare the floods a national calamity, a plea which finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman repeatedly rejected," Mr Ramesh said in a post on X.

"Now, in her Budget speech, when allocating funds for irrigation and flood mitigation, the Union finance minister has provided a vivid illustration of the double standards at work in the non-biological PM's government," he claimed.

Himachal Pradesh, which is historically a fiscally challenged state due to its remote geography and challenging terrain, will be burdened with more loans, Mr Ramesh said, alleging, "This is nothing but revenge on the people who did not vote for the BJP in Assembly elections."

Attacking the BJP government on the issue of Manipur, the Congress said the people of the strife-torn state are asking whether chief minister N. Biren Singh, who attended two meetings chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday, also met him one-on-one to discuss the situation in the Northeat state and invite him there.

Mr Ramesh said the Manipur chief minister attended the Niti Aayog meeting in New Delhi on Saturday, presided over by the Prime Minister. Thereafter, Mr Singh attends a meeting of the BJP CMs and deputy CMs presided over by Mr Modi, but did he invite the Prime Minister to visit Manipur, either before or after his trip to Ukraine?

"The simple question that the people of Manipur are asking is this: Did Mr Singh meet with Mr Modi separately one-on-one and discuss the situation in Manipur, which started burning on the night of May 3 last year?" he asked.

Since Manipur plunged into violence between the Meitei and Kuki communities last year, over 200 people have been killed and thousands displaced.