Wayanad landslides: Congress accuses Kerala govt of politicising disaster by denying Opposition volunteers access

KPCC president criticizes Kerala government for allegedly discriminating against UDF volunteers in Wayanad, amid rescue operation controversy.

Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) president K. Sudhakaran attacked the government on August 6 for allegedly discriminating against Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) volunteers in the landslide-hit Wayanad district. 

Mr. Sudhakaran’s statement came against the accusation that the Wayanad district administration and the police had prevented White Guard Volunteers of the Muslim Youth League, an offshoot of the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML), a key UDF ally, from distributing food and medicines for survivors and rescue workers in the disaster zone. 

He said the sheer scale of voluntary work and service put in by Opposition workers took the government by surprise. The government responded by denying UDF volunteers access to the locality.

Mr. Sudhakaran warned the government against politicising the rescue and relief operations. He said the government should “answer for every paisa” spent from the Chief Minister’s Disaster Relief Fund (CMDRF) and not resort to petty politicking.

On August 5, Revenue Minister K. Rajan denied the Opposition’s accusation that the government had imbued the relief and rescue operations with a political colour.

He said voluntary organisations were free to distribute food outside the “protected” zone with the prior sanction of food and safety officials.

Forest Minister A.K. Saseendran said that 1,500 volunteers from different social and political backgrounds assisted an equal number of Central and State forces in the search operations.