‘Allegations aimed to destroy govt’s credibility’

Kozhikode: PWD minister P A Mohammed Riyas said the allegations levelled by Opposition that expenses submitted by state govt to Centre in connection with Wayanad disaster relief operations were inflated, was an attempt to undermine the credibility of the state govt.
Riyas said the allegations were part of a twin edged attack against the state govt, as it will also benefit those who want to claim that the state has not received Central funds to deal with Wayanad disaster as the figures submitted were not proper.
"What is being carried out is a false campaign. People have in general approved of the interventions made by the state govt in the event of disasters and the allegations are aimed to portray the state govt as one that engages in embezzlement and fraud," he said.
Riyas said the estimates provided by the state govt were prepared based on existing norms and added that previous govts too have done so in time of disasters.
Surendran: CM trying to deceive public
Meanwhile questioning the explanation provided by chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan about the figures presented to the Centre, BJP state president K Surendran said the CM, who lost face following allegations related to Wayanad relief operations, was trying to deceive the public.
Surendran said CM was now saying that the figures released are not about the money spent, but estimates provided to the central govt. He added that while the govt claims that the expenses for volunteers amounted to crores, except for government employees, all others were either members of voluntary organisations or political party workers and none of them have taken any money for their service.
"The chief minister must clarify whether the volunteers who had such high costs were salaried government employees. The government employees need not been paid for this. Another bizarre figure is the cost of Rs 75000 for funeral of a dead body. The state government must clarify what kind of estimate it this," Surendran added.