Chandigarh: Days after Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s aerial survey of flood-affected areas of Punjab, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi will visit the state on day-long visit on Monday. He will be meeting flood-affected people in Amritsar and Gurdaspur, the worst hit districts.
Rahul Gandhi is expected to interact with affected families and assess the damage on the ground.
Earlier, Rahul Gandhi had expressed deep concern over the flood situation in Punjab and neighboring regions.
In a post on X, he expressed grief over the loss of lives caused by heavy rains and floods in Punjab, Jammu and Kashmir, and Himachal Pradesh, offering condolences to the families of the deceased and wishing for the safe return of missing people.
He urged the government to issue high alerts in all affected areas and speed up rescue operations to prevent further casualties and ensure timely aid. He also called upon Congress leaders and workers to actively support relief efforts in coordination with the administration.
Responding to Opposition leader Rahul Gandhi’s proposed visit, Punjab BJP spokesperson Pritpal Singh Baliawal raised pertinent questions.
He said the Congress, the Aam Aadmi Party, and other alliance partners currently govern eight states across the country. He questioned how much financial assistance or relief material these governments have extended to Punjab during this crisis.
He urged Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann and Punjab Congress President Raja Warring to present this data publicly so that the people of Punjab may clearly know which parties genuinely stood with them in their time of distress.
Highlighting the contrast, Baliawal noted that while both the state government and the Congress continuously question Central assistance, they have not shown the will to extend help from states where they themselves are in power.
He said during the critical period when Punjab was inundated and people were suffering immense hardship, Rahul Gandhi was abroad in Malaysia.
According to Baliawal, the timing of Rahul Gandhi’s Punjab visit now indicates a political spectacle rather than a sincere concern for the flood-affected population.
He underlined the Central government under Prime Minister Narendra Modi has already provided Punjab with Rs 1,600 crore in immediate relief, in addition to the Rs 12,000 crore available with the state government under the State Disaster Response Fund.
He said BJP-ruled states such as Delhi, Gujarat, Goa, and Haryana have each contributed Rs 5 crore to the Punjab Chief Minister’s Relief Fund. Alongside financial support, several BJP governments have dispatched thousands of trucks and train wagons carrying rations and essential supplies for flood victims.
Throughout this period, BJP leaders and workers across Punjab have been continuously engaged in relief and rehabilitation efforts, he added. Baliawal said Rahul Gandhi must answer why Congress-ruled state governments have demonstrated indifference and apathy toward Punjab’s suffering.
He emphasized that the people of Punjab deserve transparency on who truly stood by them in their hour of need.
(IANS)
