‘I am confident that once … ‘: Rahul Gandhi thanks PM Modi for deciding to visit Wayanad

NEW DELHI: Rahul Gandhi, leader of opposition in Lok Sabha, thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday for deciding to visit Kerala’s Wayanad which witnessed massive landslides killing over 400 people.

PM Modi is set to visit Wayanad today to assess the ongoing relief and rehabilitation efforts in the region, which Rahul himself visited last week along with his sister Priyanka Gandhi Vadra.

“Thank you, Modi ji, for visiting Wayanad to personally take stock of the terrible tragedy. This is a good decision. I am confident that once the Prime Minister sees the extent of the devastation firsthand, he will declare it a national disaster,” the Gandhi scion wrote on X.

PM Modi is expected to arrive in Kannaur at approximately 11 am and conduct an aerial survey of the landslide-affected areas in Wayanad.

At around 12.15 pm, the Prime Minister will visit the landslide-affected area, where he will be briefed about the evacuation efforts by the Rescue Forces.

He will also supervise the rehabilitation works being carried out in the area. During the visit, the Prime Minister will also meet and interact with the victims and survivors of the landslide at a relief camp and hospital.

Following these visits, PM Modi will preside over a review meeting, during which he will be briefed about the incident and the ongoing relief efforts.

BJP calls Rahul ‘responsible’ for deaths & destruction in Wayanad

Rahul praising the PM on his upcoming Kerala visit irked the BJP leader Amit Malviya, who accused the ex-Wayanad MP of doing “nothing to save the people from potential landslides”.

Malviya also alleged Rahul’s recent Wayanad visit was “photo-op” and that he had “refused to step out of a car for fear of muddying your shoes”.

“As MP of Wayanad for five years, you did nothing to save the people from potential landslides. In Feb 2023, Isro placed Wayanad at 13th place in a list of 147 districts on the Landslide Atlas of India. It still didn’t move you,” the BJP leader wrote.

“Sit down. Don’t behave like an ambulance chaser when, both Central and State Govt are handing the situation. Never forget, you abandoned Wayanad!,” he added.

Meanwhile, the Kerala high court has taken a suo moto cognizance of the Wayanad landslides. The division bench of justices Jayasankaran Nambiar and VM Shyamkumar directed the registry to take a suo moto case. The court also said that they should think about what can be done legally to control things like illegal mining and floods.

Courtesy : TOI

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