Home Minister Amit Shah gave a statement in Rajya Sabha regarding the landslide incident in Wayanad, Kerala. He said that my condolences are with the families of all those who lost their lives in this incident. Addressing the Chairman, Amit Shah said that when you allowed discussion on this topic, I thought today would probably be a day free from politics but some comments were made. He said that I do not know whether the accusation was made due to lack of information or out of malice, but I have to give clarity.
Home Minister Amit Shah said that in his speech he is saying early warning, early warning. He is using all the heavy words in English. He said that the central government had given an early warning to the Kerala government on 23 July itself. The Kerala government was given an early warning on 23, 24 and 25 July. Amit Shah said that on 26 July it was said that there will be more than 20 mm rainfall, landslides can also happen, mud can also come and some people can die by getting buried. Please read our early warning.
He said that we have given early warning to many governments earlier and they have done a good job. The Home Minister said that Odisha was given an early warning seven days before the cyclone. At that time, our government was not in power in Odisha, it was Naveen Babu’s government and only one person died in it. He said that the West Bengal government was also given an early warning and the government there also did a good job. Only seven cattle were killed. We have the world’s most modern early warning system.
The Home Minister said that I am not taunting anyone, but we also have an early warning system for rain, heatwave, lightning which sends information directly to the collector. He said that this information is available on the site for everyone, even for the honorable members, but some people have to open the foreign site only. Home Minister Amit Shah said that Narendra Modi’s government came in 2014 and work on this started in 2016. The government has spent Rs 2000 crore on this. Today, seven days ago, the early warning system is available with four countries of the world, one of which is India.
Why did the Kerala government not evacuate the people?
Amit Shah said that with my approval, nine teams of NDRF left for Kerala on 23rd. Three teams were sent yesterday (30 July). He said that if the Kerala government had been alert even after the arrival of NDRF, lives could have been saved. The Home Minister said that the Kerala government did not evacuate people from there. Who stopped them from evacuating people from there and taking them to a safe place, brother? This is not the time for politics, but to stand firmly with the Kerala government and the people there.
He said that I assure the House that beyond party politics, Narendra Modi’s government stands like a rock with the people of Kerala and the government there. The Home Minister also mentioned the early warning about the cyclone in Odisha and West Bengal and said that we had given an early warning to the Odisha government seven days before the cyclone. Only one person had died then. He said that our government was not in Odisha. It was Naveen Babu’s government. Early warning was also given in West Bengal and only seven cattle were killed.
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4619 crores have been released for West Bengal
The Home Minister also said that this is disaster money, any state can withdraw it by following the guidelines. No permission is required from the Government of India for this. He said that the issue of Bengal was also raised. We have approved Rs 6244 crore for Bengal. Home Minister Amit Shah said that we have reimbursed Rs 4619 crore for West Bengal. There is some problem in that. This is the government’s money, not the party’s. They will have to give an account. They will have to do this, we cannot do anything in this.
Minister of State for Home Nityanand Rai presented a detailed report on the Wayanad disaster in the House and said that we report the number of deaths as told to us by the state government. The death toll may increase. He said that Union Minister George Kurien has reached the spot and the central government is in constant touch with the state. Whatever help is needed will be provided.