Kerala govt denies delay in Wayanad rehabilitation as alleged by UDF
Thiruvananthapuram (PTI): The Kerala government on Tuesday denied in Assembly the allegations of Congress-led UDF that state was delaying the rehabilitation of the Wayanad landslides victims, following which the opposition staged a walkout from the House.
State Revenue Minister K Rajan said it was the Centre which did not provide any financial assistance for the rehabilitation and only in February they provided a long-term loan of around Rs 530 crore.
The minister further said that it was the Centre which delayed designating the landslides as a disaster of severe nature, while the state government right from the start has taken various measures, including waiving loans given by Kerala Bank, to ease the suffering of the victims.
However, instead of blaming the central government, the opposition was accusing the state government of delaying the rehabilitation efforts, he contended and opposed the UDF demand to adjourn the business of the House for the day to discuss the measures taken for the Wayanad disaster victims' rehabilitation and welfare.
In view of the stand taken by Rajan, Speaker A N Shamseer denied permission to the adjournment notice moved by the UDF MLAs, including T Siddique, who alleged that the state government has done nothing for the victims in the eight months since the disaster on July 30 last year which wiped out three villages in the Meppadi panchayat of Wayanad district and claimed over 200 lives.
Siddique, while raising the issue, also accused the Centre of neglecting the needs of the disaster victims.
Speaking against the denial of permission for the adjournment notice, Leader of Opposition in the state assembly V D Satheesan said the government did not do anything for several months to cover treatment and higher education costs of those affected by the disaster.
He said if the Centre was not doing anything or was delaying the designation of the disaster as one of severe nature, the state government should have found alternative means to help the victims financially.
"The list of the disaster affected victims has not yet been finalised even after eight months since the landslides. Many of those affected are not even mentioned in the draft lists issued by the government," Satheesan alleged.
He contended that the government was citing technical reasons for not doing the needful for the relief and rehabilitation of the victims since the disaster.
"You are getting trapped in your own red tape," he alleged.
Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) MLA and deputy LoP in the Assembly P K Kunhalikutty, said the Centre and Prime Minister Narendra Modi were to blame for not providing financial assistance for the rehabilitation and relief work.
At the same time he said that the state government was responsible for breaking the momentum to help the victims that was there after the disaster.
"You broke the momentum. All you had to do was coordinate all the help being offered by volunteer organisations and political parties and things would have been much better now," he claimed.
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Sujit Nair raises concerns over speculation of DMK-AIADMK understanding to block TVK
Chennai: Journalist and political commentator Sujit Nair has expressed concern over speculation that the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam could explore a post-poll understanding to prevent Vijay-led Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam from forming the government in Tamil Nadu.
In a social media post, Sujit Nair said the election verdict in Tamil Nadu reflected a clear public demand for political change and argued that the mandate should be respected irrespective of political preferences.
Referring to reports and political discussions surrounding a possible understanding between the DMK and AIADMK, he said he hoped such developments remained only speculative conversations and did not turn into reality.
Nair stated that if such an alliance were to take shape, it would raise serious questions about ideological politics in the country. He said TVK had emerged through a democratic electoral process and that the legitimacy to govern in a parliamentary democracy comes from the people’s verdict.
According to him, attempts to prevent an electoral winner from forming the government through unexpected political arrangements may be constitutionally valid, but many people could view them as politically opportunistic.
He further said that such a move could particularly affect the political image of the DMK, which has historically projected itself around ideology, social justice and opposition politics. Nair said that in ideological terms, the DMK appeared closer to TVK than to the AIADMK, and joining hands with its long-time political rival only to remain in power could weaken its broader political narrative.
He added that the same questions would apply to the AIADMK as well, as the party had spent decades positioning itself against the DMK and such an arrangement could create discomfort among its cadre and supporters.
Drawing a comparison with Maharashtra politics in 2019, Nair said he had expressed similar views when the Shiv Sena formed an alliance with the Indian National Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party after the Assembly elections.
He said post-poll alliances between long-standing political rivals often create a public perception that ideology and electoral mandates become secondary when political power equations come into play.
Nair also said such developments increase public cynicism towards politics and reinforce the belief among voters that ideology is often sidelined after elections.
He maintained that the Tamil Nadu verdict was emphatic and said respecting both the spirit and substance of the mandate was important for the credibility of democratic politics.
