Cong-led 22 Opposition parties urge Centre to declare Cyclone Amphan as national calamity

The 22 Opposition parties that met on Friday passed a resolution and called upon the BJP-led union government to declare Cyclone Amphan as a 'national calamity.' The all-Opposition party meet which was called by Congress interim President Sonia Gandhi has remarked that the cyclone has come as a 'double blow,' breaking the spirits of the people. The 'like-minded parties' have also expressed their solidarity and sympathy with the victims of the cyclone, an official statement by the parties read. 

The Opposition parties in the official statement urged the central government to immediately declare Cyclone Amphaan as a national calamity and substantially help the states in facing the impact of this disaster. The statement highlighted that relief and rehabilitation should be the topmost priority and added that But the possibility of an outbreak of other diseases as a result of such calamity must also not be ignored.

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PM announces Rs 1000 cr aid for Bengal 

Earlier in the day, Prime Minister Narendra Modi took an aerial survey of areas affected by Cyclone Amphaan, which is the only super cyclone to hit Bengal coast since 1999. The Prime Minister held a review meeting at and announced Basirhat with CM Mamata Banerjee, Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar and other state and PMO officials and announced Rs 1000 crore aid for West Bengal. He also said that a team will be sent by the Central Government to conduct a detailed survey about the damage caused due to the Cyclone and the current situation of the affected areas.

West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee, who attended the Opposition party meeting, has informed that 80 people have been killed in the cyclone so far. Meanwhile, on Thursday, the Bengal administration announced an ex-gratia of Rs 2 lakh for the victims of Cyclone Amphaan. 

The 22 parties that attended the meeting on Friday included Maharashtra CM Uddhav Thackeray, NCP chief Sharad Pawar, JMM chief Hemant Soren, DMK chief M K Stalin and other Left parties, as per reports. Reports have also suggested that AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal, Samajwadi chief Akhilesh Yadav and BSP Supremo Mayawati declined the invite.

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