Foreign aid nod to Maharashtra: Finance Minister K.N. Balagopal slams Centre for unfair treatment
Finance Minister K.N. Balagopal has accused the Union government of bias in permitting Maharashtra to accept foreign aid for its Chief Minister's Distress Relief Fund (CMDRF).
Responding to the Centre's decision, Mr. Balagopal said here on Sunday that Kerala had been denied permission to accept aid from outside the country in the aftermath of the devastating 2018 floods. The Union government had denied permission despite the offers for assistance from abroad, he recalled.
Mr. Balagopal said that Kerala was not against Maharashtra receiving foreign aid, but it was important that the Union government saw all States on an equal footing.
Discrimination
He said that it would not be surprising if Keralites felt that even in moments of great crisis, there was discrimination among States. 'Any State receiving aid in a crisis is a good thing. Giving permission to accept the aid is also a good thing. But the Centre's approach gives room for doubt that the decision is driven by political bias,' he said.
Mr. Balagopal said it was quite unbecoming of administrators when politics became the yardstick and not the magnitude of disasters. Such approaches also failed to uphold federal principles, he said.
The Kerala Finance Minister's remarks come close on the heels of the Union Ministry of Home Affairs granting the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act (FCRA), 2010, registration to Maharashtra's CMDRF, thereby enabling it to receive foreign donations for 'social' programmes.
No aid post-landslides
Mr. Balagopal also recalled that, following the 2024 landslides in Wayanad, Kerala had expected Prime Minister Narendra Modi to announce assistance on two occasions—during his visit to the disaster sites and later when he dedicated the Vizhinjam port to the nation. On both occasions, the State was disappointed, he said.
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