Rise above politics, help landslide-hit Wayanad people: Priyanka to Shah

A delegation of parliamentarians from Kerala led by Wayanad MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra met Home Minister Amit Shah on Wednesday, seeking the Centre's support for landslide-affected people while urging him to rise above politics and be more forthcoming in providing relief.

Priyanka Gandhi said there are landslides-affected people in Wayanad who have no support system left.

If the Centre cannot step up in such circumstances, it sends a very bad message to the entire country and especially to the victims, she said  Speaking to reporters with several Kerala MPs by her side after meeting Shah in the Parliamentary House premises, Gandhi said, "We apprised him of the situation there and told him how people have been devastated because the river's entire course has changed and everything was washed away."  There is a focus area of the natural disaster but its impact is huge and people do not have any support system left, the Congress leader said.

"Families, houses, businesses, schools, everything has been washed away. In such a situation, if the Central government does not do anything then what can we do? So we appealed to him that setting aside politics, people there should be helped from a humanitarian point of view," she said.

"I also told him that the PM had gone there and met victims and when she met the victims there was an expectation among them that the PM would do something but till now no help has been extended which is saddening," the Congress general secretary said.

Priyanka Gandhi said that she has stated that setting aside politics, as much help as possible must be extended to the people there.

"We have given representations to the prime minister and the home minister. The devastation that has happened in that area is complete. There are people who have lost everyone in their family.

"They have no support system. In such circumstances if the Centre cannot step up, it sends a very bad message to the entire country and especially to the victims," she said.

Priyanka Gandhi said she has appealed to Shah that "we must rise above politics and truly recognise the pain and suffering these people have gone through because their suffering is immense".

On behalf of all MPs from Kerala, it was an appeal to the government that they should consider this very seriously and be more forthcoming with the relief so that these people can rebuild their lives, she said.

The Congress MP informed reporters that the home minister has told them he will provide the details on what was promised and what has been given in relief by Thursday evening.

The disaster, which struck Kerala on July 30, devastated large parts of three villages -- Punchirimattam, Chooralmala, and Mundakkai -- along with sections of Attamala in Wayanad. According to the government, the disaster claimed 231 lives.