Leader of the Opposition V.D. Satheesan has said that the Central government insulted Kerala by offering ₹590 crore in loan for the rehabilitation of the Wayanad lndslide victims.
“What Kerala seeks is not the generosity of the Centre, which has acknowledged that the disaster that struck Wayanad on July 30, 2024, was a severe one. We asked for an economic package of ₹2,000-crore in aid of Wayanad. Instead of helping, offering a loan is an insult to Kerala,” he said at Perinthalmanna on Saturday (February 15, 2025).
Mr. Satheesan questioned BJP State president K. Surendran’s credentials in saying that the loan needed to be repaid in 50 years. “Who is he to say that?” asked Mr. Satheesan.
“We are not at the Centre’s mercy. Helping the States when natural disasters strike is the Centre’s responsibility. It helped States like Himachal Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh. Why this discrimination against Kerala?” he asked.
Mr. Satheesan said that in the CSR scam, many were trapped without knowing the fraud. “At the same time, there are some others who joined the scam to cheat people. There are many innocent people in this. The government should never have booked a man like Justice C.N. Ramanchandran Nair in this case. Is he a fraudster? He is a respected judge of the High Court,” he said, coming down on the government for its flippant attitude in handling the case.
He said the real culprits, not the innocent victims, should be brought to book. The government should examine if Electricity Minister K. Krishnankutty’s personal assistant was involved in the scam.
