Communist Party of India (Marxist) MP V Sivadasan on Wednesday moved a privilege notice in the Rajya Sabha alleging that Union home minister Amit Shah misled the Upper House of Parliament by claiming that the Kerala government had ignored the Centre’s warnings about the possibility of a natural calamity in Wayanad, reported The Hindu.

At least 256 people have been killed and nearly 220 are reported to be missing after heavy rain triggered two landslides in the district’s Meppadi area on Tuesday, India Today reported quoting Kerala health minister Veena George.

On Wednesday, Shah told Parliament that in addition to a warning sent to the Kerala government on July 23, the India Meteorological Department had issued additional warnings on July 24 and July 25.

Nine teams of the National Disaster Response Force were also sent to Kerala on July 23 and three additional units were dispatched on Tuesday, Shah said, claiming that the state government had ignored the central weather agency’s warnings and did not respond to the arrival of the National Disaster Response Force battalions.

The Kerala government has denied the home minister’s claims.

Three Communist Party of India (Marxist) MPs from Kerala have also requested Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar to direct Shah to clarify his comments.

MPs John Brittas, A Rahim and Sivadasan alleged that Shah’s claims were factually incorrect and “not only caused undue distress but also paint an unfair picture of the state’s gallant efforts”, reported The Hindu.

“The area where the tragedy occurred had never been on red alert before the disaster,” the MPs said in a letter to Dhankhar. “An orange alert was in place, which indicated rainfall between 115 and 204 mm. However, the actual rainfall far exceeded this prediction, with 200 mm in the first 24 hours and 372 mm in the subsequent 24 hours, totalling 572 mm in 48 hours.”

They added: “This far exceeded the initial warning. A red alert was issued only after the incident, at six o’clock in the morning.”

A red alert is issued to warn an area of “heavy to extremely heavy rain” exceeding 200 mm in 24 hours. An orange alert means “very heavy rain” between 60 to 200 mm in 24 hours.

Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan also took issue with Shah’s statements and said this was not the time for “blame game”, reported PTI.

On Thursday, Veena George described Shah’s statements as “unfortunate and misleading”.

“We have verified all communications from the Centre, and there was no red alert issued regarding landslides,” George said to NDTV. “The district administration acted based on an orange alert, which is a level lower in severity.”

Wayanad recorded more than 140 mm of rainfall in the 24 hours between Monday and Tuesday mornings. This is nearly five times over what was forecast, reported The Indian Express, citing India Meteorological Department data.

Although Mundakkai was the epicentre of the landslides, the debris was deposited six kilometres downhill in Chooralmala.

Rescue operations

As of Wednesday, Army-led operations in the district had rescued nearly 1,000 persons, reported Manorama. Rescue efforts are ongoing for the third day.

A total of 8,304 people are currently sheltered in 82 relief camps.

Vijayan arrived in Wayanad early on Thursday and held an all-party meeting. He said that the priority was to rescue the missing persons and to rehabilitate those affected, ANI reported.

Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi, who is the former Wayanad MP, and Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra visited Meppadi on Thursday and met the persons affected by the landslides.

Shashi Tharoor writes to Shah

Congress’ Thiruvananthapuram MP Shashi Tharoor has urged Shah to declare the landslides in Wayanad as a “calamity of severe nature” under the Members of Parliament Local Area Development Scheme.

In his letter to the home minister, the MP said that this disaster of “unimaginable proportions has left behind a harrowing tale of death and destruction”.

“The landslides have wreaked havoc upon countless lives and as such, it is of grave importance to extend all possible support to the people of Wayanad,” wrote Tharoor.

He added: “Such is the scale of the disaster that it necessitates a coordinated and generous response from all sections of the society.”