“PM has always had best interests of people of TN in mind”: K Annamalai

New Delhi [India], December 25 (ANI): Tamil Nadu Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Chief K Annamalai on Monday hailed Prime Minister Narendra Modi for assuring support to flood-affected state and deputing Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman to assess the flood situation, saying that the PM has always had the best interests of the people of the state in mind.

In a response to Chief Minister MK Stalin’s post on X, wherein he confirmed the assistance from the union government for flood-affected regions, the BJP state chief listed earlier assistance provided to the state by the Central government.

“Our Hon PM Thiru @narendramodi avl has always had the best interests of the people of TN in mind & his actions in the last 9 years exemplify that,” Annamalai said.

He further said that CM Stalin should remind his partymen and his ministers who’ve been “vile and exaggerative, spreading half-truths to divert people’s anger for the unpreparedness of the State Government” despite receiving advance warnings of heavy rainfalls.

“By comparing advance flood relief given to Gujarat during the Tauktae cyclone, your Ministers failed to mention that the total relief sought was Rs9836 Crores & the relief paid was only Rs1000 Crores. They also failed to mention that during the Yaas cyclone, during the same period, an advance relief of Rs1000 Crores to Odisha, West Bengal & Jharkhand was paid. Are these BJP-ruled States?” he said.

Annamalai further compared Tamil Nadu with Gujarat in terms of medical colleges under the centrally sponsored scheme and said, “Secondly, as part of the 101 Medical Colleges under the Centrally Sponsored Scheme, Gujarat received 5 medical colleges & TN received 11 medical colleges.”

“TN received Rs868 Crores & Gujarat received Rs304 Crores from the Central Government as a one-time grant for the management and control of the COVID-19 pandemic,” he said, adding that these are just a few examples.

“In the last 9 years, our Central Government, under the leadership of our Hon PM Thiru @narendramodi avl, has given over 10.76 lakh crore as Devolution, grants, centrally sponsored projects & schemes, which is 3 times more than what TN received during the time of UPA & double the amount of tax contributed by TN in the last 9 years,” he added.

Earlier on Sunday, in a post on X, Chief Minister MK Stalin expressed gratitude for the Prime Minister’s prompt attention to the dire situation.

“Prime Minister @narendramodi called me to inquire about the unprecedented floods in Southern Tamil Nadu, immediately after #CycloneMichaung,” CM Stalin said in the post.

The Chief Minister apprised the Prime Minister of the urgent need for financial support from the Union government to address the mounting challenges faced by the state.

“I have explained to him the massive rescue and relief efforts undertaken by the state government, despite resource constraints, and sought immediate financial support from the Union government,” he added.

In response to the Chief Minister’s plea, PM Modi assured full support from the Union government to help Tamil Nadu overcome these twin calamities.

Furthermore, the Prime Minister conveyed that Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has been deputed to assess the flood situation on the ground.

“Prime Minister has assured the support of the Union government to overcome these twin calamities and conveyed that he has deputed Union Finance Minister @nsitharaman to assess the flood situation,” Stalin said.

As Tamil Nadu grapples with the aftermath of the cyclone and flooding, the state government and the Centre have jointly mobilised a massive rescue and relief operation to help the affected people.

As many as 35 deaths have been reported so far in the ongoing flooding, with Thoothukudi district accounting for 22 fatalities and Tirunelveli 13.