Thiruvananthapuram | Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Monday came down on a section of media outlets which have allegedly reported that an exorbitant amount was spent for relief measures following Wayanad landslides.
Earlier in the day, media reports referring to a Kerala High Court order in connection with the Wayanad landslide, claimed that an exorbitant amount was spent for disaster relief.
The BJP and the UDF constituent, Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) targeted the state government over the reports and alleged that the Left dispensation indulged in corruption.
The BJP alleged that crores of rupees was claimed by the Left government for the expenses of volunteers. The IUML too raised similar allegations.
However, rubbishing the charges, the Chief Minister's Office, in a statement termed as 'baseless' the media reports claiming that a certain amount was spent as part of relief measures.
"The state government had submitted a memorandum with the union government seeking urgent assistance in view of the disaster. In that the expected expenses under various heads were mentioned. But the media is now spreading that document as the amount spent by the government as part of the disaster relief. This is baseless," it said.
The CM said the memorandum was prepared as part of the assessment of response and relief measures as per the State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF) norms.
However, this is being falsely reported by the media, he added.
The chief minister claimed that it was an attempt to torpedo the state government's efforts to secure assistance from the central government.
"The government had submitted the memorandum containing the expected expenses and the additional expenses before the High Court. Now attempts are made using that document to falsely attack the state government. This is against the interest of the state," Vijayan said.
He urged the media to rectify the "false report".
