“Where is the Money?”: M V Govindan Slams Congress Over Undisclosed Wayanad Landslide Relief Funds

CPI(M) State Secretary M V Govindan has declared that the mystery surrounding the crores of rupees collected by the KPCC in the name of rehabilitating survivors of the Mundakkai–Chooralmala landslide disaster in Wayanad continues to deepen. Despite one and a half years having passed since the funds were raised, the Congress leadership has shown no willingness to disclose how much was collected or where the money currently stands. Govindan demanded that both the KPCC President and the Leader of the Opposition come forward and provide clear answers on the matter.

Congress had earlier claimed that the amount collected for building homes for disaster victims was safely held in a joint bank account. Yet today, there is no information whatsoever about that money or its whereabouts. Both the KPCC President and the Opposition Leader are contesting the ongoing elections, but neither has declared this account or its funds in their election nomination papers. Govindan further alleged that a section of the media is making a deliberate and conscious effort to suppress and cover up Congress's outright fund fraud.

Turning to the controversy over the SIR, he dismissed the opposition's claim that the Chief Minister had taken the initiative to implement it as baseless. He stated that CPI(M) has consistently maintained a firm stance against the SIR, and that it was the Left government itself that passed a resolution in the State Assembly opposing it. Given these facts, he said, the Opposition Leader and the UDF are now resorting to blatant falsehoods. M V Govindan remarked sarcastically that telling at least two lies a day has become a well-practised habit of the Opposition Leader.

Responding to questions about G Sudhakaran's political shift, the senior CPI(M) leader said that he has now completely crossed over into the UDF camp. He noted that Sudhakaran made this move by disowning and disrespecting the martyrdom of Bhuvaneshwaran. Govindan added that there is therefore no need to revisit or discuss G Sudhakaran's earlier history any further. He concluded on a confident note, asserting that the Left Democratic Front will emerge victorious in Ambalappuzha with a strong and decisive majority.