The Congress said on Tuesday that it will launch protests, both inside and outside Parliament, under the leadership of Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi against the alleged indifference of the Union government to providing assistance to victims and survivors of the July 30 landslides in the mountainous district of Wayanad.
Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee working president and MLA T. Siddique said that despite Congress MP Rahul Gandhi raising the issue in the Lok Sabha twice, the government has yet to declare the landslides a national disaster or provide necessary relief and rehabilitation support for the survivors.
He said that besides Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, he, as local MLA, had submitted a memorandum to Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeking assistance for the relief and rehabilitation of the landslide survivors during his visit soon after the tragedy. Although the Prime Minister had promised full support, not even 1% of justice had been delivered by Mr. Modi or the Union government led by him in relation to that assurance, he alleged.
“It is an inhuman approach towards the people who have suffered such a massive tragedy,” he said, adding that the Congress would intensify its protests both inside and outside Parliament against this. “Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi and Wayanad MP Priyanka Gandhi will lead the agitation,” Mr. Siddique told reporters in New Delhi.
UDF, LDF demand
Both the ruling CPI(M)-led Left Democratic Front and the Opposition Congress-led United Democratic Front have been demanding the BJP-led Union government to declare the landslides as a national disaster and provide required assistance for the relief and rehabilitation of the survivors at the earliest.
The State recently witnessed an intense political row following the Centre’s recent letter to the State government stating that under the existing guidelines of the State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF) and National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF), there is no provision to declare any calamity a ‘national disaster”.
The disaster devastated large parts of three villages — Punchirimattam, Chooralmala, and Mundakkai — along with sections of Attamala in Wayanad. As per the government, the deadly disaster claimed 231 lives, while 47 people are still missing.
(with inputs from PTI)
Published - November 26, 2024 09:37 pm IST
