Vardah: Visit Delhi, put pressure on Centre to release funds, Stalin tells TN CM
Chennai: DMK treasurer MK Stalin on Wednesday said that Chief Minister O Panneerselvam should visit Delhi to exert pressure on the Centre, a day after the latter wrote to PM Narendra Modi, urging him to sanction Rs 1,000 crore for cyclone relief work.
Referring to Panneerselvam's letter urging Prime Minister Narendra Modi to sanction the amount, Stalin said: "Not stopping with just writing a letter, Chief Minister O Panneerselvam should go and put pressure on Delhi (Prime Minister Modi)."
He said, only by doing so, Tamil Nadu will be able to get a substantial relief package.
"Be it the previous AIADMK regime or the present six-month old (AIADMK) government, whatever be the issue, it stops with writing (to Centre) just a letter," he added.
On being asked about the pace of relief work, he said "this is not enough as normalcy has not returned in Chennai, Kancheepuram and Tiruvallur Districts."
He said the relief work undertaken by the government and civic bodies was not sufficient and "I urge the government to intensify the relief work".
Yesterday, Panneerselvam had sought Rs 1000 crore from the National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF) to the state for relief, rehabilitation and reconstruction following the havoc wrecked by cyclone Vardah.
In the letter to Modi, he had also requested that a team be deputed to study the damage caused by the cyclone in Chennai and neighbouring districts of Kancheepuram and Thiruvallur.
