CPI moves breach of privilege motion against Amit Shah over Wayanad landslide remarks
It was only after the occurrence of landslides that Wayanad was placed under red alert by the IMD, MP Sandosh says in petition to Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar
Union Home Minister Amit Shah at Parliament during the Monsoon Session, in New Delhi on Monday.
| Photo Credit: ANI
Moving another privilege motion against Home Minister Amit Shah, for allegedly misleading the Parliament with his claims that Kerala was forewarned about the landslides in Wayanad, Communist Party of India’s Rajya Sabha MP P. Sandosh Kumar said in his petition that the affected area was never under a “red alert”. He also pointed out that the warnings that the Home Minister was referring to were vague.
During the debate on a calling attention motion on Wayanad landslides on July 31, Mr. Shah had said that Kerala was warned about heavy rains on July 23 and on the same day, the Centre had rushed nine teams of NDRF personnel to the State.
Amit Shah, Pinarayi Vijayan cross swords over advance warning ahead of Kerala tragedy
“According to the communication from the India Meteorological Department [IMD], the affected area and the sub-division were never under a red alert, which warrants taking action. It was only after the occurrences of landslides that the area was placed under red alert,” Mr. Sandosh wrote in his petition to Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar.
Mr. Sandosh also gave a detailed account of the warnings issued by the IMD. “It appears that the statement made by the Union Home Minister was intended to politicise the matter when Kerala is passing through a tragedy and seeking support, while also misleading the House and through the House, the people,” the MP noted, urging the Chairman to admit a privilege motion against Mr. Shah.
The IMD communication of July 23, Mr. Sandosh pointed out only forecasted “very heavy rainfall” at “isolated places over Kerala and Mahe”. The sub-division level alert for Kerala was “Yellow” for July 23-24 and “Orange” for July 25, according to the July 23 forecast for the following five days. It was “Yellow” again for July 26-27. An Orange Alert means “be prepared” and Red Alert means “take action”, he pointed out.
How accurate were Amit Shah’s claims of early warning to Kerala before Wayanad landslides?
Mr. Sandosh also reproduced the IMD forecast issued on July 30 which said, “Isolated extremely heavy rainfall likely over Kerala and adjoining Tamil Nadu on 30th and over Karnataka on 30th & 31st July 2024”. But it did not mention the affected areas. “This communication dated 30th July was issued at 13:10 IST, indicating heavy rainfall in Wayanad district,” Mr. Sandosh said. However, the first landslide had struck the village of Mundakkai in Meppadi gram panchayat at around 1:00 a.m. on July 30, almost sweeping away the entire village, followed by a second landslide to the north in nearby Chooralmala at around 4:10 a.m. “It was only through this communication that… IMD issued a Red Alert and it’s clear from the timeline that it was after the occurrences of landslides,” he said.
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avalanche/landslide