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Allow me to contribute funds to my own Guwahati constituency: Congress MP
Help in times of distress: Congress Working Committee member M. Veerappa Moily, along with Assam party president Bhubaneswar Kalita (left) distributes relief to flood victims at Kendukona in Kamrup district, Assam, on Tuesday.
GUWAHATI: Congress MP from the Guwahati Lok Sabha constituency Kirip Chaliha on Tuesday said he would move Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee to allow him to contribute Rs. 10 lakh from his quota of MP Local Area Development Scheme (MPLADS) funds for reconstruction work in flood affected areas in his own constituency instead of contributing the amount for reconstruction projects in flood-affected areas of Bihar.
Mr. Chaliha told reporters here that Mr. Chatterjee and the Rajya Sabha Chairman, Hamid Ansari, had issued an appeal to all Members of Parliament on September 3 to contribute Rs. 10 lakh each from their quota of MPLADS funds for reconstruction projects as permissible under the MPLADS guidelines and also to donate their one month’s salary for relief and rehabilitation work in affected areas of Bihar. He also distributed copies of the appeal among the reporters.
Mr. Chaliha said that instead of Bihar, he was keen to contribute the amount for reconstruction work in his own constituency where flood had caused havoc. The Congress MP further said that he would also apprise both Mr. Chatterjee and Mr. Ansari about the desire of the people of Assam for more flood relief. He, however, declined to make any comparison on the severity of flood havoc in Bihar and Assam and added that he was not aware of the severity of flood in both the States.
Asom Gana Parishad MP from Lakhimpur constituency Arun Sharma also urged the Lok Sabha Speaker and the Rajya Sabha Chairman to exclude the MPs from Assam from this appeal and to ensure proportionate distribution of funds so contributed by other MPs between Bihar and Assam.
Dr. Sharma said the damage caused by flood in Assam was no less than Bihar and pointed out that lakhs of people in his constituency had been hit hard. There was hardly any place left in Majuli river-island of the constituency for even opening a relief camp.
Congress Working Committee member and AICC in-charge of Assam M. Veerappa Moily visited the flood-affected areas of lower Assam’s Kamrup district on Tuesday and distributed relief material. Mr. Moily was accompanied by Assam Revenue Minister Bhumidhar Barman, Social Welfare Minister Akon Bora and PCC president Bhubaneswar Kalita.
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