Congress Discloses Accounts Of Funds Received For Wayanad Rehab
KPCC chief Sunny Joseph informed that the Congress has received around Rs 5.38 crore in its account set up for Wayanad rehabilitation.
Kannur (Keralam) : KPCC chief Sunny Joseph on Saturday said that the Congress has received around Rs 5.38 crore in its account set up for Wayanad rehabilitation and used the funds to purchase land for constructing homes for landslide victims. Joseph said that, in addition to the funds received in the account operated jointly by him and Leader of Opposition V D Satheesan, the Youth Congress collected around Rs 1.05 crore for rehabilitation efforts.
"The amounts collected were used to buy land in Wayanad in two phases for building homes for those who lost their properties in the July 2024 landslides, which claimed over 200 lives," the Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee chief said in a press conference here.
In the first phase, land measuring 3 acres and 24.5 cents was purchased for around Rs 3.68 crore. In the second phase, 2 acres and 15 cents were acquired for slightly over Rs 2.5 crore, he said.
As the collected funds proved insufficient, an additional Rs 97 lakh was spent from the KPCC's own account.
Joseph added that another Rs 73 lakh is required for registration and other formalities related to the second land purchase.
All transactions were carried out through bank accounts, he noted.
"The Congress had to purchase land on its own as the state government did not allot any site for the construction of houses," Joseph said.
The disclosure comes amid repeated queries from the Left Front regarding the amount Congress collected for Wayanad rehabilitation and its utilisation.
Joseph alleged that the Left staged marches to the offices of Wayanad MP Priyanka Gandhi and MLA T Siddique "to create a smokescreen of suspicion" against the Congress and UDF.
He further said the party has already spent more than it collected on land purchases, and the homes will be built using funds from the KPCC and AICC.
"There will be no further fund collection for this project," he added.
Separately, Joseph said the Congress has sought intervention from the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) and the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) of Keralam to ensure free and fair polls in Kannur.
He alleged that district administration and election officials were favouring the CPI(M).
