Shah 'deliberately' skipped flood affected Kerala, chose BJP ruled states for ariel surveys: CPIM
New Delhi: The CPI(M) politburo on Monday claimed that Home Minister Amit Shah "deliberately skipped" the aerial survey of flood-affected Kerala and instead chose to visit BJP-ruled states like Maharashtra and Karnataka.
In a statement, the party expressed concern at the loss of life and destruction of property and livestock due to the floods in various parts of the country.
"The home minister in his aerial survey of flood-hit areas chose to go only to BJP ruled states of Maharashtra & Karnataka. It appears that he deliberately skipped the survey of the badly affected Kerala," it alleged.
"Some elements associated with the RSS-BJP are campaigning on social media, asking people not to donate to the Kerala Chief Minister's Relief Fund. Political partisanship is least expected in times of natural calamities and unfortunate deaths of people," it said.
Kerala is the worst affected in the floods so far with 76 dead and around 58 missing. An official update at 11 am said 2,87,585 people have taken shelter in 1,654 relief centres in the state.
"Forty lives have been lost in Maharashtra, 32 in Karnataka and 24 in Gujarat. Major rivers like the Tungabhadra, Krishna in AP/Telangana and their tributaries are in spate and continue to cause immense destruction and damage.
"The PB of the CPI(M) calls upon the central government to render all required assistance to the state governments to tackle this calamity," the statement said.
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Karnataka bypolls: Over 60 per cent voter turnout in Bagalkot, Davanagere South till 5 pm
Bengaluru (PTI): Over 60 per cent voter turnout was recorded till 5 pm in both Assembly constituencies in Karnataka, where bypolls were held on Thursday.
While the turnout in Bagalkot was 65.68 per cent, it was 63.04 per cent in Davanagere South.
While the ruling Congress faces the challenge of retaining both seats, the BJP aims to wrest them and deliver a setback to its rival, which is currently witnessing an "internal power struggle" over leadership.
The bypolls were necessitated due to the demise of senior Congress MLAs H Y Meti (Bagalkot) and Shamanur Shivashankarappa (Davanagere South).
A total of over 2.59 lakh eligible voters are expected to cast their votes at around 319 polling stations in Bagalkot, where nine candidates are in the fray.
In Davanagere South, over 2.31 lakh eligible voters are expected to vote across 284 polling stations, with 25 candidates contesting.
The BJP has fielded former MLA and 2023 defeated candidate Veerabhadrayya Charantimath from Bagalkot, and a fresh face, Srinivas T Dasakariyappa, from Davanagere South.
The Congress has given tickets to family members of the late legislators in both constituencies. Bagalkot candidate Umesh Meti is the son of H Y Meti, while Samarth Mallikarjun from Davanagere South is the grandson of Shamanur Shivashankarappa.
