Congress paranoid about Modi: BJP

DEHRADUN: BJP today accused Congress of being paranoid about Narendra Modi, saying if it had not been so, the party-led government in Uttarakhand would not have "systematically hidden" facts about the assistance offered by Gujarat for the relief of disaster-hit people.

"I cannot understand why the Congress is so paranoid about Modi. After all it is this paranoia which did not let Bahuguna government talk openly about the generous amount of help offered by Modi for the flood-hit people of the state," BJP national secretary Trivendra Singh Rawat told reporters here.

Claiming that relief kits worth Rs 12 crore loaded in a train were sent by Modi government for affected people in the wake of the tragedy in Uttarakhand, the BJP leader said not a single state government functionary has talked about it till date.

Why shouldn't they talk openly about assistance offered by Gujarat the way they talk about other states, he asked.

"Not only that, a team from Gujarat having expertise in extricating bodies from debris, which had come to Dehradun on the invitation of the state government to lend a helping hand in removal of debris at Kedarnath, was sent back without its services being taken.

"This shows the state government wants to systematically hide every fact which has the potential of going in favour of Modi," Rawat said.

Terming the package of Rs 1000 crore given by the Centre for relief in Uttarakhand as absolutely inadequate, the BJP leader said over Rs 20,000 crore will have to be spent on reconstruction work in the devastated state.

He also demanded that the Uttarakhand tragedy be declared a national calamity by the Centre considering its magnitude and the pan-Indian nature of the disaster in which thousands of pilgrims from all over the country perished.