The Hindu : National : BJP legislators to donate one month's salary for relief

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Dec 29, 2004

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National

BJP legislators to donate one month's salary for relief

By Our Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI, DEC. 28. At an emergency meeting of the Bharatiya Janata Party, called here today by the former Prime Minister, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, it was decided that all members of Parliament, Legislative Assemblies and Legislative Councils of the party would contribute one month's salary for relief work for those affected by the tsunami on Sunday.

The party has set up a disaster relief committee under the chairmanship of the former Finance Minister, Jaswant Singh. He is likely to visit Andaman and Nicobar Islands tomorrow or the day after to see for himself the disaster and ascertain the kind of help needed. Mr. Vajpayee has directed that all State units of the party be asked to collect relief material as well as donations. The party has set up a BJP Calamity Relief Fund.

Mr. Vajpayee later appealed to his partymen and to the people to come forward and donate generously. It was a major humanitarian disaster and everyone should help to the maximum extent possible.

The disaster relief committee, which has Venkaiah Naidu, Sushma Swaraj, Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, V.K. Malhotra, Shivraj Singh Chauhan, Ved Prakash Goyal and S.S. Ahluwalia as members, will take a decision on what will be done with the fund to be collected. Mr. Naqvi said that depending upon the collection, the BJP could take up specific projects.

The party president, L.K. Advani, who has visited the disaster-affected areas of Tamil Nadu and Kerala, will go to Andhra Pradesh tomorrow.

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