Wayanad Landslides: Left files breach of privilege notices against Amit Shah

Both the CPI(M) and the CPI have filed breach of privilege notices against Union home minister Amit Shah, accusing him of misleading the Rajya Sabha about the Kerala government's response to early warnings before the Wayanad landslides, which claimed over 385 lives.

During a discussion on the Wayanad landslides in Rajya Sabha, Shah accused the Kerala government of ignoring warnings issued through 23–26 July, a claim denied by chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan. CPI(M) MP V. Sivadasan and CPI floor leader P. Sandhosh Kumar submitted separate notices seeking action against Shah.

Sandhosh Kumar, in his notice, states that Shah's statements were false and aimed at politicising the tragedy, thereby misleading the House and the public. The notice requests that privilege proceedings be initiated against Amit Shah for this breach.

He also lists in detail the chronology of the IMD projections and forecasts from 23 July to 30 July:

23 July 2024:

• IMD forecast: Very heavy rainfall very likely at isolated places over Kerala and Mahe on 25 July.

• IMD alert: Yellow alert for 23–24 July, orange alert for 25 July, yellow alert for 26–27 July.

24 July 2024:

• IMD forecast: Scattered to fairly widespread light to moderate rainfall with thunderstorms and lightning over Kerala and Mahe for the next five days.

• IMD alert: Yellow alert for 24–27 July, green (no warning) for 28 July.

25 July 2024:

• IMD forecast: Heavy to very heavy rainfall in isolated places over Kerala and Mahe.

• IMD alert: Yellow alert for 25–29 July.

26 July 2024:

• IMD forecast: Scattered to fairly widespread light to moderate rainfall with thunderstorms and lightning over Kerala and Mahe for the next 5 days.

• IMD alert: Yellow alert for 26–30 July.

27 July 2024:

• IMD forecast: Heavy rainfall at isolated places over Kerala and Mahe. Very heavy rainfall very likely in isolated places on 28 July.

• IMD alert: Yellow alert for 27 July and 29–31 July, orange alert for 28 July.

28 July 2024:

• IMD forecast: Very heavy rainfall very likely in isolated places over Kerala and Mahe on 28 July.

• IMD alert: Orange alert for 28 July, yellow alert for 29–31 July, green for 1 August.

29 July 2024:

• IMD forecast: Very heavy rainfall very likely in isolated places over Kerala and Mahe on 29 July.

• IMD alert: Orange alert for 29 July, yellow alert for 30–31 July and 1 August, green alert for 2 August.

30 July 2024:

• IMD communication at 13:10 p.m.: Heavy to very heavy rainfall in many places, with extremely heavy rainfall likely in isolated places over Kerala and Mahe. Significant rainfall recorded in Wayanad district.

• First landslide occurred at around 01:00 a.m., second landslide at around 04:10 a.m. IMD issued a red alert for the sub-division after the occurrence of both landslides.

The Congress party also filed a breach of privilege notice, with chief whip Jairam Ramesh asserting that Shah's statements were fact-checked and proven false by the media. Shah made similar remarks in both the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha, when opposition MPs had raised concerns about the lack of early warnings.

Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan refuted Shah's charges, stating that the IMD had only issued an orange alert before the landslide, with a red alert coming only afterwards.

CPI(M) MPs John Brittas, A.A. Rahim, and Sivadasan wrote to Rajya Sabha chair Jagdeep Dhankhar, seeking to correct the record. They also highlighted the Geological Survey of India's studies on landslides in the Western Ghats and criticised the lack of early warning systems in Kerala, despite its high incidence of landslides.