Congress submits privilege notice against Amit Shah for 'misleading' claims on Wayanad landslides

New Delhi: Congress on Friday submitted a breach of privilege notice against Home Minister Amit Shah accusing him of misleading the Rajya Sabha by claiming in the House that the Kerala government did not act on the early warnings issued to it on landslides in Wayanad.

In the letter to Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankar, Congress Chief Whip Jairam Ramesh said these claims were “extensively fact-checked” in the media and it is clear that Shah “misled the Rajya Sabha by his emphatic statements which have been proven to be false”.

The letter also signed by Congress Deputy Leader in Rajya Sabha Pramod Tewari and senior MP Digvijaya Singh said it is well established that misleading the House by a Minister or an MP constitutes a breach of privilege and contempt of the House.

On Wednesday while intervening on a Calling Attention Motion on Wayanad landslides, Shah had accused the Kerala government of “not heeding” to prior warnings sent on July 23, 24, 25 and 26.

Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan refuted the charges and said the IMD had only issued an orange alert for the landslide hit area till Tuesday morning where there was 572 mm rainfall in 48 hours while the warning was for 115 mm to 204 mm rainfall in two days. The Weather Office also said a red alert was issued only after the landslide occurred.