Accusing Amit Shah of “misleading the Rajya Sabha”, the Congress MP in the letter to the chairman said, “In his response to a Calling Attention on the Wayanad landslides in the Rajya Sabha on July 31, 2024, the Union Home Minister made several claims on early warning systems and how they were not utilized by the Kerala government in spite of alerts issued by the Union Government well ahead of the tragedy.These claims have been extensively fact-checked in the media.”
“It is clear that the Union Home Minister misled the Rajya Sabha by his emphatic statements on early warnings issued by the Union government which have been proven to be false. It is well established that misleading the House by a Minister or a Member constitutes a breach of privilege and contempt of the House,” the Congress MP wrote.
“Under these circumstances, we submit that privilege proceedings may be initiated against the Union Home Minister in this matter,” the letter read.
What Amit Shah said in Rajya Sabha
Union home minister Amit Shah on Wednesday blamed the Kerala government for its delayed response to early warning systems regarding potential landslides in state, attributing the major losses to their lack of prompt action. Shah highlighted that on July 23, nine teams from the National Disaster Response Force were dispatched to Kerala following the early warning.
“”An early warning was given to Kerala govt on July 23 and again on July 24. Earlier, several states, including Odisha and Gujarat used the Centre’s early warning system to limit damages,” he said in Rajya Sabha.
“Under this early warning system, on July 23, at my direction, 9 NDRF teams were sent to Kerala considering that there could be landslides… What did the Kerala government do? Were the people shifted? And if they were shifted then how did they die?” he asked.
“Wayanad losses could have been minimised had Kerala govt become alert following arrival of NDRF teams,” he said.
Over 300 people have lost their lives in the deadly landslides as rescue operations continue.
Kerala CM Vijayan counters Shah
In response to Amit Shah’s remark, Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan hit out at Centre, saying it was not the time for blame game.
Kerala CM further stated that the media provides accurate warnings and that weather notifications are always taken seriously in the state.
“Media provides accurate warnings, and weather alerts are always taken seriously in the state. This is not the time for mutual accusations. The facts are clear to everyone. An orange alert was in place in the area where the disaster occurred. In the first 24 hours, 200 millimetres of rain fell. In the next 24 hours, 372 millimetres of rain fell. A total of 572 millimetres of rain was recorded over 48 hours exceeding the warning levels,” the CM said.
Vijayan also highlighted that no red alert was issued for the area prior to the disaster. “A red alert was only issued at 6 am on the day of the disaster. The red alert was issued only after the landslide occurred. The severe weather warning and red alert were given on the morning of July 30, after the landslide. The Central Water Commission did not issue any flood warnings for the Punnappra River or Chaliyar River from July 23-29. This is the fact, the statements made in Parliament were factually incorrect,” the Kerala chief minister said.
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