9-year NDA rule is a national disaster: Udhayanidhi Stalin slams Centre over allocation of central relief funds

Udhayanidhi Stalin was responding to Nirmala Sitharaman's criticisms on Tamil Nadu government's flood preparedness. Earlier, the Union Finance Minister had said that the central government is not an ATM.

Chennai:Tamil Nadu Youth Welfare and Sports Development Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin on Saturday said that the nine years' of NDA rule has been a national disaster and slammed the Centre for not considering the recent floods in the state as a national calamity.

"The nine-year NDA rule has been a national disaster. I think because of this, the Centre did not see the recent floods in the state as a calamity. The people of Tamil Nadu should take note of the attitude shown by the Centre," he said.

Udhayanidhi's statement has come amid the ongoing spat with the Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman over allocation of central relief funds.

In the wake of the Tamil Nadu government seeking more funds for the flood-affected state, Sitharaman has recently said that the Centre is not an ATM. Referring to the Union Finance Minister's comment, the DMK minister questioned whether their demand was something irrational because he did not ask for his own sake but for the people of the state. "I want to ask the Honorable Union Finance Minister, whether I am asking for my own sake or because people have been affected by such a severe calamity. The Union Minister refuses to see this as a disaster," he said.

Udhayanidhi said that the central team that came to inspect the flood-hit areas appreciated the activities and rescue operations undertaken by the state government during the floods. It seems that the Union Finance Minister is seeing the issue politically, he said.

Deliberating on the floods, Udhayanidhi said that Chennai, Kanchipuram, Chengalpattu, Tiruvallur, Thoothukudi and Tirunelveli were the most affected by the heavy rains and some areas were completed inundated. People have yet not recovered from the shock, he added.

Responding to Sitharaman, who had said that Udhayanidhi should speak more responsibly, the DMK minister said, "I respectfully ask you to give us the funds. What did I say rudely? Is father a bad word?" Udhayanidhi had earlier said that they were not asking for their "father's property".

While the Tamil Nadu government claimed to have taken necessary precautionary measures in both Chennai and southern districts, Sitharaman criticised that the state failed to take proper action despite the Meteorological Department's alerts.

The DMK ministe said, "I don't want to politicise this. I don't want to say it's my fault or yours. Everyone was on the field trying to combat the situation at that time," he said.