FM’s remarks an insult to TN people, says govt
Quoting PM Modi as telling CM Stalin during their meeting in Delhi, “I will fulfil all your requests,” Thennarasu said TN requested the Centre to declare floods in Chennai and southern districts “a calamity of severe nature” and release Rs 21,000 crore as a relief.
Thangam Thennarasu (File)
CHENNAI: The ruling DMK on Friday reacted strongly to the criticism levelled by Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in New Delhi on the recent Tamil Nadu floods and called her statements an insult meted out to the Tamil Nadu people.
Irked by her accusations against the government’s handling of the floods, mainly the participation of Chief Minister MK Stalin in the INDIA bloc meeting in the national capital, the ruling DMK got one of its senior Ministers Thangam Thennarasu to issue a sharp retort to his national counterpart.
In an elaborate statement, Thangam said, “Only one person in the country did not understand the extent of the devastation suffered in Tamil Nadu which was understood by all others in the country. She is Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. The reply given by her with the body language of a person fuming at an enemy country at war was an insult meted out to the people of Tamil Nadu.”
Quoting PM Modi as telling CM Stalin during their meeting in Delhi, “I will fulfil all your requests,” Thennarasu said TN requested the Centre to declare floods in Chennai and southern districts “a calamity of severe nature” and release Rs 21,000 crore as a relief.
“Nirmala has stated in her arrogant language that neither of the two would be fulfilled. In her attempt to insult the CM and DMK, she has insulted TN people.”
Tamil Nadu has sought Rs 21,000 crore, but only Rs 450 crore of usual funds have been realized so far, he said.
Pointing out that TN had sought Rs 1.27 lakh crore for floods since 2015, but received only Rs 5,884 crore (4.61%), he said perhaps they allocated funds in proportion to their vote share in the State.