Shimla, July 31 -- The former Chief Minister and Leader of the Opposition in Himachal Pradesh, Jai Ram Thakur, has strongly criticised the state government and PWD Minister for what he termed as "confusion and misrepresentation" regarding disaster relief funds. Speaking to ANI in Shimla on Thursday, Thakur clarified the norms for central disaster assistance and accused the Congress-led state government of turning disaster relief into a political opportunity.

"There seems to be a big confusion in the mind of the minister. The truth is that the Centre allocates disaster funds to the state, and those are deployed project-wise and area-specific where the actual damage has occurred," Thakur said.

"We have always maintained that disaster fund...