Congress Faces Fresh Heat Over Contradictory Claims on Funds Collected for Wayanad Landslide Victims

Thiruvananthapuram: Contradictory statements from Congress leaders over funds collected for the name of Wayanad landslide victims have deepened the controversy surrounding the party's relief efforts. Even as the LDF government has rehabilitated 178 families in the newly inaugurated Wayanad township, the promises of house construction by Congress remain unfulfilled.

AICC General Secretary K C Venugopal, in an interview to Media One channel, claimed that the collected funds were used to purchase land in three plots. He said the money had been deposited in the Thiruvananthapuram branch of Dhanalakshmi Bank, and that when the land purchase required more than what had been raised, additional funds were drawn from the KPCC account. However, Venugopal declined to specify the exact amount collected or the total cost of the land acquisition, leaving the party's account of the matter riddled with unanswered questions.

Even as the party claims to have purchased land, there is no clarity on who will construct the houses, or where the funds for construction will come from. Party workers themselves are reportedly anxious over whether another round of fundraising will be required.

The controversy is compounded by the Congress party's earlier sustained campaign urging donors not to contribute to the Chief Minister's Distress Relief Fund (CMDRF), alleging that the state government would not deliver on its promises. Those allegations have now been undercut by the inauguration of the Township, under which 178 families are living with dignity at a permanent address — a direct outcome of the LDF government's resolve and the public's cooperation.

Opposition Leader V D Satheesan had initially stated that the collected funds were deposited in a joint account held by himself and the KPCC president. However, this account does not appear in the affidavits submitted by either leader alongside their nomination papers, and the amount is also absent from the AICC's balance sheet. Following widespread criticism, the party purchased 3.24 acres of land — reportedly in an area prone to wild elephant attacks — and laid a foundation stone for housing a month ago, but no further action has been taken since.

The KPCC president at the time had publicly rejected Ramesh Chennithala's proposal to contribute salary funds to the CMDRF, asserting that the Congress had its own fundraising mechanism. Priyanka Gandhi, the national Congress leader and Wayanad's own MP, had also advised against donating to the CMDRF. Congress-affiliated service organisations were similarly directed to route contributions to the KPCC's special fund rather than the state relief fund.

Questions about the total amount collected and the account in which it is held have been raised repeatedly — including at press conferences — but have gone unanswered for months.

Then Youth Congress leader Rahul Mamkoottathill's much-publicised promise of 30 houses has come to nothing. Youth Congress national secretary Abin Varkey had stated that Rs 1.05 crore is with them, yet the whereabouts of that sum too remain unclear. Allegations have surfaced from within the organisation that the money was used for the Youth Congress presidential election and to assist a young MLA facing a harassment case. Meanwhile, Kerala witnessed the LDF government deliver what Congress could not — permanent homes for 178 Wayanad landslide survivor families.