Assam Governor Padmanabha Balakrishna Acharya asks Union Minister not to politicise flood problem

GUWAHATI: Assam Governor Padmanabha Balakrishna Acharya today urged Union Youth Affairs and Sports Minister Sarbananda Sonowal not to politicise the flood problem in the state.

"I am not a BJP man now. But as an ex-BJP man, I will tell him (Sonowal) not to make floods a political issue. Please do not do this. The state government is my government," Acharya said at a press conference.

The Governor was responding to queries on Sonowal's allegation yesterday that the state government was not doing enough to handle the natural calamity.

"If you have any problem regarding any issue, you can meet me or the CM. This is a problem we all should fight together," Acharya said.

Sonowal had accused Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi of doing "cheap politics" over the flood situation and said the state government has enough funds to tackle the problem.

The Union Minister had also claimed that the state government was given Rs 1,655 crore as part of the SDRF fund during the beginning of this financial year, out of which an amount of Rs 1,425 crore was still unused.

However, the Governor said "I agree with the CM that we need more funds. The Centre should give more funds. I am going to Delhi tomorrow and will meet the President, Home Minister and most probably the Prime Minister. I will appeal to the Centre on this matter."

"I will also request Prime Minister Narendra Modi to pay a visit to the flood-hit areas. At the same time, the atmosphere of blaming the Centre is also not good. We cannot accept blaming the Centre every time for the state's failure," he added.