UDF and LDF call hartal as BJP defends Centre on Wayanad disaster

The United Democratic Front (UDF) and the ruling Left Democratic Front (LDF) called for a "hartal" on November 19 to protest against the Centre's decision not to declare the July 30 landslides in Kerala's Wayanad district as a national disaster.

Shops, businesses, and institutions have been asked to close from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. on the hartal day.

The disaster devastated three villages – Punchirimattam, Chooralmala, and Mundakkai – along with sections of Attamala in Wayanad. The deadly disaster claimed at least 231 lives, while 47 people are still missing.

The two rival political fronts called for the hartal separately. The UDF hartal is against the central and state governments, and the LDF's is against the Centre's non-allocation of funds to the landslide victims.

The ruling Left Democratic Front (LDF) or the "left front" is the alliance of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) and the Communist Party of India (CPI), alongside other minor parties. The United Democratic Front (UDF), led by the Congress, is currently in the Opposition in Kerala.

The Congress slammed the Centre for its lack of assistance for Wayanad, while the BJP backed the central government's decision.

Kerala has sought three things from the Centre: Immediate additional relief assistance, the writing off of affected families' loans, and the notification of the landslide as a disaster of a 'severe nature'.

A political row erupted in Kerala after the central government wrote a letter to the state, saying that under the existing guidelines of the State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF) and the National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF), there is no provision to declare any calamity a 'national disaster'.

`It's discrimination against Kerala'

Kerala Finance Minister KN Balagopal criticised the Centre's decision, calling it "a clear case of severe discrimination and injustice towards Kerala". He also claimed that the central government neglected the state's request for aid to rehabilitate the Wayanad disaster victims.

"The Centre's stance of neglect towards providing any aid for the Wayanad disaster victims is a blatant injustice to the people of Kerala," Balagopal said.

Kerala's Revenue Minister K Rajan also lashed out at the Centre for withholding relief funds for the Wayanad landslide survivors. Rajan said the state government had long before requested the Centre to declare the landslide a national disaster, but they have not taken any action and are "intentionally neglecting the state."

The leader of the Opposition in the state assembly VD Satheesan also attacked the Centre and pointed out that the state had sought a special financial package for the victims.

Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) chief and Kannur MP K Sudhakaran said a sum of ₹394 crore remains unutilised in the State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF), highlighting a significant failure on the part of the state government. 

"This amount should be utilised without delay, as many disaster victims are still waiting for the basic financial assistance promised by the state," he was quoted as saying.

BJP defends Centre

BJP leader V Muraleedharan alleged that the Centre's `delay' in giving aid to Kerala was because of Kerala's "failure" to submit a clear plan. He contended that the Centre cannot allocate funds based on guesswork.

Muraleedharan urged the Kerala government to prepare specific project proposals, similar to the ones submitted by Bihar and Andhra Pradesh.

The BJP leader also reiterated that the decision not to declare the Wayanad landslide a national disaster was in line with existing norms, and noted that the same position was taken when Congress leader Mullappally Ramachandran was the Union minister.

(By arrangement with livemint.com)