Jammu and Kashmir flood: BJP slams Congress leaders for 'trying to play politics'

BJP on Tuesday condemned some Congress leaders for "trying to play politics" over the , and said the central government was doing its best for relief and rescue of those in distress.

"Our first priority is to rescue those stranded and take them to safer places. The Prime Minister's initiative has been lauded by many in the Congress. But it is unfortunate that some are still trying to play politics. There should be no politics on a national calamity like this," BJP secretary Srikant Sharma said here.

"This is not the time for any blame game," Sharma said, in reaction to former National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) vice-chairman and Congress leader M Sashidhar Reddy's reported criticism of the Modi government over delay in re-constitution of the agency.

The BJP leader said the Centre was coordinating with the state government to ensure that all those stranded are taken to safer places and there is no further loss of lives and all government agencies are working on the rescue operations.

The Prime Minister has already announced Rs 1,000 crore for Jammu and Kashmir to tackle the flood situation and BJP President Amit Shah has appealed to all party MPs and MLAs and other leaders in the state to help in the rescue operations.

Sharma said all BJP-ruled states are also coming forward in supporting the operations as Madhya Pradesh has provided Rs 5 crore and Gujarat has provided Rs 5 crore and 1 lakh food packets for the affected people in Kashmir.