Modi Government questioned for Rejection of Foreign Assistance in Kerala Floods

India, along with the US, Japan, and Australia, were the first responders for relief work in the Maldives, Indonesia and Sri Lanka. However, despite being one of the worst-affected countries, India declined immediate humanitarian aid citing available “capabilities and resources to deal with the aftermath of the disaster through its own national effort”.Since then, India has consistently not accepted any humanitarian assistance from foreign governments in the immediate aftermath of any major natural disaster.
If the Centre has declined funds from foreign countries, it is obliged to step up its financial assistance and extend all help sought by the state government. The catch is that although the Centre has declined foreign government aid, it has still not moved on assessing the extent of the damage and allocating funds, despite multiple requests by the state. This has created a perception in Kerala that the Centre was using the opposition-run state’s weak position to isolate it politically. The perception has led to resentment against the Modi government, with opposition parties hitting out at the BJP. The Centre’s actions were against the Disaster Management Policy of India.
 As the state government faces the daunting task of rehabilitating people over the next few months, the Centre’s tardiness may precipitate yet another crisis in Centre-state relations, as witnessed between Andhra Pradesh and the Modi government only recently.

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