The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Sunday launched a sharp attack on the Congress over its handling of the aftermath of the Wayanad landslide, alleging that the constituency had been treated as a “political pawn" by the party's first family.
BJP national spokesperson CR Kesavan questioned the absence of Wayanad MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra from the constituency after the July 7 landslide at the Anakkampoyil-Meppadi twin-tube tunnel project site in Kerala's Wayanad district.
In a post on X (formerly Twitter), Kesavan alleged that Priyanka Gandhi had neither visited the disaster site nor met the families of those who lost their lives. He claimed that, apart from making a post on social media, she had not reached out to the victims or their relatives.
“Wayanad has become nothing but a political pawn for the Congress first family," CR Kesavan said, accusing Priyanka Gandhi of neglecting the constituency. Referring to Rahul Gandhi's earlier tenure as Wayanad MP, he also claimed that residents had frequently expressed dissatisfaction over his engagement with the constituency.
He wrote, “Earlier when Rahul Gandhi was MP there, the overwhelming opinion was that he was hardly attentive and rarely visited the constituency."
Kesavan further alleged that Rahul Gandhi had “hoodwinked" the people of Wayanad by later choosing to contest from Rae Bareli after the Lok Sabha elections, adding that the same political approach was continuing under Priyanka Gandhi's representation.
The BJP's criticism came as the death toll in the landslide climbed to eight on Sunday with the recovery of the final person who had been feared trapped beneath the debris.
The landslide struck the Kalladi area, where construction is underway on the Anakkampoyil-Meppadi twin-tube tunnel project, a major infrastructure project intended to strengthen connectivity between the districts of Wayanad and Kozhikode.
After five days of unsuccessful search efforts to locate Vikram Rana, the last person reported missing, authorities launched an extensive operation on Sunday involving teams from the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), the Special Operations Group (SOG), Fire and Rescue Services, the Rapid Response Team, the Forest Department and youth volunteer organisations. The recovery of the final body brought search and rescue operations at the site to an end.
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