Thiruvananthapuram (Kerala) [India], February 25 (ANI): Congress MP Shashi Tharoor has supported Priyanka Gandhi's recent appeal to convert the funds that have been disbursed as a loan into a grant and extend the spending deadline for the victims of the disaster.

Tharoor took to the social media platform X, Tharoor wrote, 'Strongly support the request from Priyanka Gandhi to convert the government's Wayanad landslide relief from a loan to a grant, and to extend the deadline to spend it. The victims of Kerala's worst disaster deserve no less!'

This come after Wayanad MP Priyanka Gandhi had written a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, equesting urgent and unconditional financial assistance for the victims of the devastating landslide that struck Chooralmala and Mundakkai in the district of Kerala on July 30, 2024.

In her letter she had termed the relief as 'inadequate' and expressed disappointment over the conditions attached to the funds.

'After continuous urging from the MPs of Kerala, the central government has recently announced a relief package of 529.50 crore for the victims of the devastation. Apart from the fact of its inadequacy, it is unprecedented that the package comes with two conditions: first that the funds shall be disbursed, not as a grant as is the norm, but as a loan, and second, that they should be spent in their entirety by the 31st of March, 2025,' the Congress MP said.

'These conditions are not only immensely unfair, but they also display a shocking lack of sensitivity towards the people of Chooralmala and Mundakkai who have suffered such shattering losses,' she added.

Highlighting the immense loss of lives, livelihoods, and infrastructure, she expressed disappointment over the inadequacy of the recently announced Rs 529.50 crore relief package, which comes with restrictive conditions.

'As the MP for Wayanad Lok Sabha, I felt it my duty to apprise you of the plight of the people of Chooralmala and Mundakkai in my constituency. It is indeed heart-breaking that even six months after a horrific tragedy destroyed their lives and livelihoods, they are facing unimaginable hardships while trying to rebuild their lives,' she said. (ANI)