Wayanad Landslides: BJP Cites UPA-Era Rule As Rahul Gandhi Pushes For 'National Disaster' Status

The BJP has responded to calls, including from Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, to declare the devastating Wayanad landslides a national disaster, citing a 2013 Parliament document that states such a concept doesn't exist under Central government guidelines. This policy has remained unchanged since the UPA government's tenure.

Senior BJP leader V Muraleedharan posted on his Facebook page a 2013 Parliament document in which then Minister of State for Home, Mullappally Ramachandran, stated that "there is no provision to declare a natural disaster as a national disaster."

Muraleedharan, who is also a former Union Minister said: "The concept of a 'national disaster' does not exist under the Central government's guidelines, a fact that has been the case since the UPA government's tenure. This was explicitly stated by the then Union Home Minister, Mullappally Ramachandran, in a response to a question in the Lok Sabha on August 6, 2013.”

"While there is no official designation of 'national disaster', each disaster is addressed according to its severity," he said, "and urged people not to attempt to create baseless controversies during this time of disaster."

Muraleedharan said that the Central government will extend all necessary assistance to the affected state governments. He said immediately after the disaster, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced Rs 2 lakh for the families of the deceased and Rs 50,000 for the families of those injured from the National Disaster Relief Fund.

"Therefore, I request that no one should attempt to create baseless controversies during this time of disaster," the BJP leader said.

Muraleedharan's statement comes days after Rahul Gandhi, Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, visited Wayanad and described the massive landslides that hit the hill district on July 30 as a "national disaster." Gandhi, a former MP from Wayanad, termed it a "terrible tragedy for Wayanad, Kerala, and the nation."

When asked by reporters, he had said, "To me, this is a national disaster for sure, but let's see what the government says."

Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Saturday said that 215 bodies have been recovered so far as rescue operations are in the final phase in landslides-hit Wayanad. The Chief Minister said that 206 people are still missing and 83 are undergoing treatment at various hospitals in Wayanad, Kozhikode and Malappuram districts. He said that a total of 10,042 people were shifted to shelter camps.