Centre, Kerala resort to Wayanad blame game

"State was alerted on July 23, seven days prior, then again on July 24, and July 25. On July 26, it was informed that there would be heavy rainfall exceeding 20 cm, with a possibility of landslides and mud rushes. Consequently, we dispatched nine NDRF teams on July 23, and three additional battalions were sent yesterday (July 30). If the state government had acted on these warnings, many lives could have been saved," Shah said.

"Seven days is a long time for the states to act. An IIT Delhi report had identified 4,000 persons in the region at high risk, and they should have been relocated. The same people have now perished. Six years ago, we saved many lives due to the early warning system, but this time we could not," Shah stated in both the Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha.

However, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan refuted these claims, stating that the home minister had presented information in Parliament that was "inconsistent" with the facts. The CM insisted that an orange alert had been in place, with the Central Meteorological Centre predicting rainfall between 115 and 204 mm, but the actual rainfall far exceeded these predictions. "The area received 200 mm of rain in the first 24 hours and 372 mm in the next 24 hours, totaling 572 mm in 48 hours. This far exceeded the initial warning. The area had never been on red alert before the disaster. However, after the incident, a red alert was issued at 6 in the morning," said Vijayan.

"From July 23 to 29, the Central Water Commission, which is responsible for issuing flood warnings, did not issue any warnings for either Iruvazhinji Puzha or Chaliyar. The Union home minister has presented information in Parliament that is inconsistent with these facts. So, we can see that what was said in Parliament today was baseless," he asserted.

Regarding the NDRF teams in the state, the CM said these teams were made available at the beginning of the rainy season based on Kerala's prior request for nine NDRF teams.

"We are currently confronting a disaster, and many people are left in desperate and destitute conditions. Act now to rescue those who can be saved and locate those who are buried. Push hard to restore the area and rebuild the lost village. Keeping everything together is crucial at this critical moment," he said.

During a short duration calling attention motion on the Wayanad landslide tragedy in both Houses, the home minister assured the House that the Centre was standing like a "rock" with the Kerala government and people of the state in this moment of tragedy. He also promised all possible help from the Central government.

In a political twist in Lok Sabha, BJP MP Tejaswi Surya gave a politico-religious angle to the tragedy and accused Congress MP from Wayanad, Rahul Gandhi, of neglecting the area. Surya alleged that illegal encroachments were not removed in Wayanad due to pressure from religious organisations.

His remarks led to protests by Congress members, forcing Speaker Om Birla to briefly adjourn the proceedings. When the House resumed, Congress MP K.C. Venugopal claimed that Surya was trying to sabotage the debate and demanded an apology for making "false claims" about Gandhi. "The House records will prove that Rahul Gandhi has raised the issue several times," said Venugopal.

Venugopal, who hails from Kerala, had started the discussion in Lok Sabha on an emotional note. Other Kerala MPs in the Opposition joined him, seeking to know what actions the Centre had taken and if it had alerted the Kerala government in advance.

In Rajya Sabha, the Opposition blamed the loss of lives on the lack of early warning systems for natural calamities such as the one in Wayanad, amid calls from several members across party lines to declare the tragedy in Kerala a national disaster.

Terming it a huge tragedy, Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi urged the government to extend all possible help to the people of Wayanad and address the "ecological issue" there. He also called for a high-tech solution to prevent such tragedies in the future and lauded the efforts by the armed forces.

"I think it is very important that we support the people of Wayanad, that we give them as much support as possible, and I request the government to help the people of Wayanad in this difficult time. I think this is the second time this tragedy has taken place; it occurred five years ago, and it is clear that this area has an ecological issue that needs to be addressed. Any high-tech solutions would be beneficial," Gandhi said.

Responding to the queries, Shah criticised the Opposition for questioning the Central government's early warning systems and response to the tragedy. "There were accusations, whether in the absence of information or not, I do not know, but I need to specify here through the House to the entire nation. They kept saying early warning, early warning...I would like to specify that on July 23, the Kerala government was given an early warning by the central government," Shah asserted.

"The Central government sent nine NDRF teams by air. May I ask what the Kerala government did? Whether unauthorised people were living there? This was a vulnerable situation at hand, were the people evacuated? Why were they not evacuated? Who stopped them, and if they were evacuated, how did the people die?" Shah asked.

He claimed that the people were evacuated later, not earlier, but expressed solidarity with the state and reassured the members that, irrespective of party politics, the Modi government will stand by the people and the government of Kerala like a "rock."

Shah said India is among the few nations with the most modern technology for predictions at least seven days in advance. He added that many state governments have achieved zero casualties by heeding these early warnings for natural calamities, citing examples of cyclone warnings to Odisha and Gujarat. He added that the government has spent Rs 2,000 crore on it since 2014, and this information is shared with states seven days prior and is available on the website for all, including MPs.

In an apparent dig at Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, he said, "But some people do not open Indian sites, only foreign sites; now, on overseas websites, this early warning system will not show; you will have to open our sites."

Earlier, minister of state for home affairs Nityanand Rai said on Wednesday that a sum of Rs 145 crore was disbursed from the State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF) to the Kerala government, and there is a balance of Rs 394 crore in the SDRF. He added that the Prime Minister is continuously monitoring the situation.