Kerala floods: Govt inherited policy of refusing foreign aid, says Alphons

In refusing foreign aid for the rehabilitation of flood-hit Kerala, the Centre has followed a 14-year convention it "inherited" from previous governments of refusing such assistance in the face of natural calamities, Union minister Alphons Kannanthanam said on Thursday.

The government is under fire for refusing aid for Kerala from countries like the UAE and Thailand. Alphons said this was a policy that was followed by the current government since former prime minister Manmohan Singh had refused aid from foreign countries in 2004 during the devastating Tsunami.

"A policy decision was taken by the Manmohan Singh government in December, 2004 in the aftermath of the Tsunami and that policy has been continued with for the last 14 years. This is something we have inherited," he told reporters here.

Earlier, among others, Kerala Finance Minister Thomas Isaac had criticised the BJP-led government over the refusal of aid and said the rain ravaged southern state had asked the Centre for a financial support of Rs 22 billion, but was granted only Rs 6 billion.