New Delhi: Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Wednesday said that party MP from Mandi, Pratibha Singh, would raise in the special session of Parliament the demand for declaring the recent calamity in Himachal Pradesh a ‘national disaster’. However, Gandhi said she was not sure if the party MP would be allowed to raise the demand during the session.
A special session of Parliament will be held from September 18 to 22.
“We do not know what the session is about and whether she (Pratibha Singh) would be allowed to raise the issue or not but even if this does not happen, we should make a strong representation to the Centre on it and the Congress would fully support it”, she told reporters during her visit to the Shiv temple site in Summer Hill.
Slamming the government, she said, “No one would like to do politics at this hour and everyone should come forward for help,” she said and asked the Centre to rise above “party politics” and help Himachal Pradesh without taking into consideration whether there is a Congress or BJP government in the state.
Gandhi, who is on a two-day visit to the rain-affected areas of Kullu, Mandi, Shimla and Solan districts, had visited Mandi and Kullu on Tuesday and urged the Centre to declare the calamity in Himachal Pradesh due to heavy monsoon rains a national disaster.
Since the onset of monsoon on June 24 till September 12, Himachal Pradesh has suffered losses of Rs 8,679 crore. About 270 people have died in rain-related incidents, according to the state emergency operation centre.
As many as 165 landslides and 72 flash floods were reported during the monsoon season.
Chief Minister Sukhvinder Sukhu has pegged the losses at Rs 12,000 crore and earlier urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to declare the calamity in Himachal Pradesh as a national disaster.
(With inputs from PTI)