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The Centre’s refusal to accept ₹700 crore from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) for flood relief in Kerala needs a re-think, given Keralites’ unique relationship with the Gulf countries, said several Members of Parliament and former bureaucrats.
This comes on the heels of the External Affairs Ministry spokesperson’s late evening statement on Wednesday that the government was committed to meeting the requirements for relief and rehabilitation in Kerala through domestic efforts.
At the same time, the MEA spokesperson said contributions to the Prime Minister's Relief Fund and the Chief Minister's Relief Fund from NRIs, PIOs and international entities such as foundations are welcome.
It may be recalled that the erstwhile UPA Government had in 2004 (when Tsunami struck Chennai in December 2004) taken a decision (just through a resolution and no legal amendment) of not to accept aid from foreign governments for relief.
“The Central Government should allow the Kerala government to accept the flood relief offer of ₹700 crore from the UAE,” ND Gupta, Rajya Sabha member and former CA Institute President, told BusinessLine .
He highlighted that several advanced countries too had accepted foreign aid to tackle situations of natural calamity. Gupta felt that the current dispensation need not be guided by the decision of the UPA-I Government on this front.
Meanwhile, Shivshankar Menon, who served as National Security Advisor under Manmohan Singh Government, on Thursday tweeted: “If memory serves, the 2004 decision was to not accept foreign participation in relief, but accept it for long-term rehabilitation case by case. No rescue teams needing hand-holding and interpretation, but yes to help rebuilding houses, bridges, roads etc. A way forward for Kerala?”
Menon was responding to former Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao’s tweet of Wednesday. Rao had tweeted “True that as country we can give rather take assistance, but 80 per cent of Indians in the Gulf are Malayalees. Offer of flood relief assistance from region must be treated with sensitivity. Saying no is simple, but for Kerala-in-crisis, its not so simple.”
Sanjaya Baru, ex-media advisor to former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, responded to Menon on Twitter on Thursday: “You are correct. We said no to relief but accepted support for rehab. Also, one must distinguish between normal aid and help in disaster.”.
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