Wayanad Landslide: Opposition's Demand For 'National Disaster' Tag Contradicts UPA Government's 2013 Stance

(MENAFN- AsiaNet News) A growing clamor has emerged to declare the Wayanad landslide a national disaster, with the region's MP Rahul Gandhi at the forefront of the demands. However, the Opposition seems to have conveniently forgotten that their own UPA government had clarified in the Lok Sabha as far back as 2013 that the term "national disaster" is not a recognized or defined concept under Central government rules and guidelines.

As per a 2013 Lok Sabha reply by the then Minister of State for Home, Mullappally Ramachandran, "there is no provision to declare a natural disaster as a national disaster."

The reply further stated that the“Government of India adjudges a calamity of severe nature on case-to-case basis taking into account inter-alia the intensity and magnitude of the calamity, level of relief assistance, the capacity of the State Government to tackle the problem, the alternatives and flexibility available within the plan to provide succour and relief etc. The priority is immediate relief and response assistance in the context of a natural calamity. As such there is no fixed prescribed norms. However, for a calamity of a 'severe nature', additional assistance is also considered from the National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF), after following the established procedure.”

He also noted that it is primarily the responsibility of the concerned state governments to carry out the necessary rescue and relief efforts following natural disasters.

Earlier, senior BJP leader V Muraleedharan posted on his Facebook page a 2013 Parliament document in which Mullappally Ramachandran, stated that "there is no provision to declare a natural disaster as a national disaster."

"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," said Muraleedharan in his Facebook post.

Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi had described the massive landslides that struck the Wayanad district on July 30 as a "national disaster".

When questioned by reporters, he remarked, "I consider this a national disaster, but we'll have to wait and see what the government says."

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