Wayanad landslides: BJP cites UPA-era rule as Rahul Gandhi pushes for 'national disaster' tag

The BJP rejected demands to declare the Wayanad landslides a national disaster, stating no such policy exists under central government guidelines.

The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Sunday turned down the demands from various quarters to declare the Wayanad landslides a national disaster, saying no such policy exists under the central government guidelines.

Wayanad: Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha and Congress MP Rahul Gandhi along with party leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra during their visit at the landslides affected sites, at Chooralmala in Wayanad.(PTI)

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

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Muraleedharan, 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."

The BJP leader stressed that while there is no official designation of 'national disaster,' each disaster is addressed according to its severity. "I urge people not to attempt to create baseless controversies during this time of disaster," he said.

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Assuring support, Muraleedharan said that the central government would extend all necessary assistance to the affected state governments.

Muraleedharan's remarks come after Rahul Gandhi, Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, visited Wayanad and described the landslides that struck the hill district on July 30 as a “national disaster.” On Friday, Gandhi referred to the landslides as a "terrible tragedy" unprecedented in the state's history. He stressed the need for a different level of response due to the magnitude of the disaster.

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Gandhi, who arrived in Wayanad on Thursday to assess the destruction, called for an urgent comprehensive action plan.

"To me, this is a national disaster for sure, but let's see what the government says," he told reporters.