Chandigarh, Sept. 10 -- Finance minister Harpal Singh Cheema and his cabinet colleagues on Tuesday condemned Prime Minister Narendra Modi's financial assistance package for Punjab, calling it a "cruel joke" on the state's flood-ravaged people. Calling it 'meagre and insulting', Cheema said that the aid of Rs.1,600 crore is grossly inadequate relief for the state facing the worst floods in four decades. "The PM's visit was nothing more than a photo-op. After weeks of our state battling an unprecedented natural calamity, the Prime Minister has finally responded with an aid package that is a pittance. The losses incurred by our farmers, labourers, poor people, businesses, and infrastructure run into tens of thousands of crores," Cheema said in a statement. Cabinet ministers Gurmeet Singh Khudian, Hardeep Singh Mundian, Harbhajan Singh ETO, Barinder Kumar Goyal, Lal Chand Kataruchak, and Laljit Singh Bhullar termed the package a 'token gesture'. "It amounts to adding insult to injury for millions of people who have lost their homes, livelihoods, and crops," they said. The ministers said the Rs.20,000 crore demand was not a figure pulled out of thin air, but a carefully calculated estimate of the damage on the ground. AAP Punjab in-charge Manish Sisodia termed the package as an insult to Punjab. The Congress' Punjab unit termed the assistance as "a drop in the ocean" for the flood-hit state. State Congress chief Amarinder Singh Raja Warring said the people of Punjab had great expectations from the PM, but he 'badly disappointed' everyone. "This is like a drop in the ocean; as we say in Hindi, 'Oont ke mooh mein jeera'," he said. Leader of Opposition in Punjab, Partap Singh Bajwa said, "Punjab has always placed the nation above itself... Yet, when Punjab faces one of its worst disasters, the Centre responds with crumbs." Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) president Sukhbir Singh Badal, while urging the Prime Minister to enhance the financial assistance, expressed shock that the AAP government had refused to spend a single rupee from the Rs.12,000 crore lying with it under the disaster management fund head. "The magnitude of the inundation and the damage to crops and livelihood warranted an enhancement of the assistance awarded to Punjab. The PM's visit has also exposed the AAP government's failure to release money from the disaster management fund," he said while asking Modi to consider a one-time loan waiver in flood-affected areas, saying it would take two to three years for farmers to get back on their feet. Punjab BJP chief Sunil Jakhar on Tuesday thanked the Prime Minister for standing with the state battling its worst deluge since 1988. Jakhar said the PM "assured people that the Centre would make all efforts in extending succour to the flood-affected people." Responding to the ruling AAP and Congress' criticism that the financial assistance was not sufficient, Jakhar pointed out that it was in addition to the Rs.12,000 crore already in the state's kitty. "Apart from Rs.1600 crore in aid for flood-affected Punjab on top of the existing Rs.12,000 crore in central assistance, funds have also been allocated to convert tubewells to solar pumps, rebuilding homes under the PM Awas Yojana, repair of schools under the Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan, and restoration of national highways. Central teams are submitting their reports, and based on these, the government of India will provide further assistance to Punjab," Jakhar said. Union minister of state for railways Ravneet Bittu said PM's willingness to listen to the grievances of farmers highlights his commitment to the welfare of every citizen of the state. "This is an initial relief measure, and further support will be extended," Bittu said....