Rahul raising imaginary issue to escape accountability in Wayanad tragedy: BJP

New Delhi: The BJP took a swipe at Rahul Gandhi for his claim that an ED raid is being planned against him, saying he is creating a new narrative to distract people from asking about his accountability as the MP from Wayanad following the devastating landslide tragedy there.

He might have been told that people are asking questions about his accountability so he has sought to create a new narrative, BJP leader and former Union minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar told reporters.

Gandhi has raised an imaginary issue to avoid questions related to Wayanad, he said, adding that local MP is the last person to reach there. People are asking about his accountability, he claimed.

Union minister and BJP ally Lalan Singh was sharp in his take on the Leader of Opposition's claim, saying Gandhi might have done something which he believes might result in such an action.

"If someone does no wrong, then why will anything happen," he told reporters.

Gandhi was elected from Wayanad in the 2019 and 2024 polls. He gave up Wayanad as his Lok Sabha seat this time and retained Rai Bareli, another constituency he was elected from.

The Congress has announced that his sister Priyanka Gandhi Vadra will contest in the by-poll, which is yet to be announced. Both siblings are currently in Wayanad meeting the affected families.

He had earlier posted on X that an Enforcement Directorate raid is being planned against him after his 'chakravyuh' speech in Parliament. Gandhi said he was "waiting with open arms".

Chandrasekhar said the death of over 300 people, mostly poor, in the disaster is not just a tragedy but a crime. He blamed the successive state governments since 2009 for this negligence in "commercial interest" and said the people of Wayanad have borne the cost.

The BJP leader also slammed the Left government in Kerala for a move to bar science and technology institutions for sharing opinion and study reports with the media regarding the tragedy.

The I.N.D.I.A. bloc, an alliance which includes most opposition parties despite their state-wise differences, is steeped in hypocrisy and has little regard for freedom of expression, he said.

Facing flak, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has asked for the withdrawal of the controversial note issued by the State Disaster Management Authority, which restrained science and technology institutions in the state from sharing their opinions and study reports.

At the press conference, the BJP leader cited UN General Assembly President Dennis Francis' praise of India in lifting tens of millions of people out of poverty to laud the government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The narrative of the government system before 2014 was that it is dysfunctional, leaky and corrupt, he claimed. Under the Modi government, digital revolution also took place, taking internet connection to 90 cr from 17 cr and the number of bank account holders to 52 cr from 14 cr, he added.

Referring to the need to provide a basis to support rapid development, such as through digitalisation, Francis cited and lauded India’s example and said: “Take for example the case of India…. India has been able to lift 800 million people out of poverty over the last five or six years simply by the use of smartphones.”