Kerala Floods: Purported 700 Cr Aid Only Mentioned by CM Vijayan

There has been controversy over whether the UAE had announced Rs 700 crore in aid for flood-ravaged Kerala.

Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan. 

(Photo: IANS)

Amid the row over the purported Rs 700 crore financial aid by the UAE to Kerala in the wake of floods, one must note that the said amount has been only mentioned by the Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan.

Vijayan mentioned this relief amount at a press conference held on 21 August, wherein he was quoted as saying:

The help has been conveyed by the UAE Councils to the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Today morning, Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed bin Sultan Al-Nahyan, the crown prince of Abu Dhabi, informed our prime minister about their contribution for Kerala and this was conveyed to me by MA Yusuff Ali... They have decided to provide $100 million as financial aid for flood-hit Kerala.

Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan

The person the Kerala CM had cited, Yussuf Ali – the Keralite businessman who is chairman and managing director of the Lulu Group based in the UAE – has himself not mentioned anything regarding this assistance amount on his social media accounts.

Moreover, as this Boom article points out, the $100 million amount did not find a mention in the various social media posts regarding the situation in Kerala put up by the Abu Dhabi crown prince, the vice president and PM of the UAE Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, and even Prime Minister Narendra Modi. All of these talk about assistance and support for Kerala, but do not mention the $100 million amount. Even the official website of the UAE did not have any reference to the said amount, the Boom report added.

The controversy over the purported Rs 700 crore aid by the UAE was sparked when the country's ambassador Ahmed Albanna reportedly said on 23 August that UAE had not announced the specific amount in aid, since the issue was "not yet final".