The Congress on Monday alleged that an all-party delegation of MPs from Kerala that wanted to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi to raise the issue of the devastation caused by the recent floods in the state, was denied an appointment to meet him. The delegation, headed by former defence minister A.K. Antony and comprising MPs from the Congress-led UDF and CPI(M)-led LDF, were denied permission by the Prime Minister’s Office though they had given a letter on August 27, seeking an appointment with Modi on any date convenient to him, AICC general secretary K.C. Venugopal alleged.
Venugopal, representing flood-hit Alappuzha Lok Sabha constituency, said he received a telephone call from the Home Minister’s Office Monday,saying that the PMO has forwarded the Kerala MPs’ request to the home minister, asking him to meet the lawmakers.Venugopal told PTI that there was no point in meeting Rajnath Singh again as the delegation had already met him and other Central government ministers, while seeking the assistance of their ministries for flood-affected Kerala. Venugopal described the PMO’s decision as “undemocratic.”
“We are the elected representatives and we believe that we have every right to meet the prime minister to place the people’s grievances before him [Modi]. But he decided not to meet us. It is an insult to the people of Kerala,” Venugopal said. Venugopal said the MPs wanted to place certain demands, including grant of more financial aid to flood-hit Kerala and removal of a clause from a Central government policy decision that prevents India from accepting foreign aid as disaster relief.
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