Kerala CM: Report on Smriti Irani Helping Wayanad Migrants Untrue

Kerala CM Vijayan called the report in RSS mouthpiece organiser, false and urged against spreading “propaganda”

Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan dismissed as fake a report that BJP MP and Union Minister Smriti helped migrant workers from her Amethi constituency who were stranded in Kerala’s Wayanad, Rahul Gandhi’s constituency.

(Image: Altered by The Quint)

Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan dismissed as “propaganda” a report that BJP MP and Union Minister Smriti Irani helped migrant workers from her Amethi constituency who were stranded in Kerala’s Wayanad.

Addressing the media on 8 April after the COVID-19 briefing, Vijayan said, “We saw a report from Delhi that claimed Smriti Irani sent help to Wayanad, while Rahul Gandhi helped Amethi. We’ve provided all the aid and necessities to the workers and poor in the state with considerable thought. Please don’t spread any misleading news or propaganda that might disrupt or undermine the efforts of the state .”

“When we enquired about it, we found that 41 migrant workers were staying together and the panchayat officials had provided 25 kits to them as they had stated that they would cook for themselves. There was no shortage of food there.” 

Pinarayi Vijayan, Kerala CM

The report in RSS mouthpiece ‘Organiser’ claims that migrant workers from Amethi allegedly stranded in Wayanad reached out to their friends in Amethi for help.

It adds, “As soon as the issue came to the notice of Amethi MP Smt Smriti Irani, her office coordinated with the External Affairs Minister Shri Muralidheeran’s office and the Kerala unit of Sewa Bharati on 31 March.”

Sewa Bharati is the community service arm of the RSS and other affiliated groups.

The report also claims that the workers “were deprived of food for three days as their agent left them to their fate after convincing them that the Panchayat authorities would take care of them.”

Congress scion Rahul Gandhi held the Amethi constituency till 2019, when he lost to BJP leader Smriti Irani. Gandhi won the Wayanad constituency in the same election.

The report came just days after a report on Saturday, 4 April, that Rahul Gandhi had sent 12,000 sanitizers, 20,000 face masks and 10,000 soaps for distribution among the people of Amethi.

A CNN News-18 report quoted Amethi District Unit President Pradeep Singhal as saying Rahul Gandhi had instructed them to distribute the items to people, especially those at the forefront of the battle against COVID-19.

More than 100 packets containing essential edible items were distributed in different parts of Amethi on Sunday.

The packets were sent by local MP Smriti Irani, who is also the Union Minister for Women and Child Development, and distributed among the needy people while also respecting the social distancing norms.

Vijay Gupta, a spokesperson for the Union minister here, said the packets, which have Irani's photos on them, are being distributed in different parts of Amethi.

On Monday, 6 April, PTI reported that Amethi MP Smriti Irani had sent more than 100 packets containing essential edible items to different parts of Amethi on Sunday.

The packets distributed among the needy people while also respecting social distancing norms, the report added.

The report quoted Vijay Gupta, a spokesperson for the Union minister, as saying that the packets, which have Irani's photos on them, were being distributed in different parts of Amethi.

(With inputs from Manorama News, NDTV, CNN News18, and PTI)