UAE did not offer financial aid for flood-hit Kerala, says state BJP chief

Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan spoke about aid from the UAE, saying that the news was conveyed to him by Middle East business honcho.

The Kerala unit of the BJP on Friday said that the United Arab Emirates (UAE) did not announce financial aid of $100 million for the flood-ravaged state.

Flood-affected victims stand in a queue for food at a relief camp set up inside a school in Kochi, Kerala. (AP Photo)

It demanded that chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan reveal the source who told him about the assistance.

Addressing the media in Kozhikode, state BJP chief PS Sreedharan Pillai said: “We want Vijayan to explain about this news and from where he received it. After the Centre expressed reservations in accepting the aid, a vicious smear campaign was unleashed against the Centre and Prime Minister Narendra Modi.”

Earlier this week at a press meet in the state capital, Vijayan spoke about the aid from the UAE, saying that the news was conveyed to him by Middle East business honcho, MA Yusuf Ali.

Pillai said that no central government, save Modi’s, has extended so much help to a state.

“He came and assessed the flood situation. Despite bad weather, he got in a helicopter and surveyed the destruction. Such is his commitment,” he added.

(This story has been published from a wire agency feed without modifications to the text. Only the headline has been changed.)