ISLAMABAD: India’s opposition leader Mallikarjun Kharge on Thursday urged the federal government to step up relief and rehabilitation efforts as floods and landslides continued to batter the country's northeastern states.
In a statement posted on social media platform X, Kharge, president of the Indian National Congress and leader of the opposition in the upper house of parliament, expressed condolences to families of those killed in the disaster and solidarity with thousands of displaced residents.
"The devastating floods and landslides in Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Meghalaya and Sikkim have claimed precious lives and left thousands of families displaced and devastated," he said.
Kharge criticized the federal government and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led administrations in the affected states, saying previous promises to make the northeastern region "flood free" had not been fulfilled and that annual flooding continued with inadequate preparedness and limited long-term mitigation measures.
He called on the government to immediately use the PM CARES Fund to provide compensation, rehabilitation and sustained relief for affected families, while urging authorities to deploy additional personnel, resources and financial assistance to strengthen rescue operations and rebuild damaged infrastructure.
Kharge also praised the efforts of the Indian armed forces, as well as the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), for carrying out rescue and relief operations in the flood-hit areas.
He urged Congress party leaders and workers to assist victims in flood-prone regions.
Heavy monsoon rains have triggered widespread flooding and landslides across several northeastern states in recent days, causing casualties, displacing thousands of people and damaging homes, roads and other infrastructure.
