New Delhi, August 12: Secretary-General of Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPIM) Sitaram Yechury on Monday said that Union Home Minister Amit Shah on his aerial survey of flood-affected areas on Sunday chose to go only to Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ruled Maharashtra and Karnataka. He added that Shah "deliberately skipped" the survey of severely affected Kerala. Amit Shah Undertakes Aerial Survey of Flood-Hit Areas in Karnataka.

In a statement, CPIM expressed concerns over loss of lives and destruction of property and livestock in floods in several parts of the country. The party, in a statement, alleged that "some elements associated with the RSS-BJP are campaigning on social media, asking people not to donate to the Kerala Chief Minister's Relief Fund."

Tweet by Sitaram Yechury:

Severely affected by floods, 76 people have lost their lives in Kerala and over 50 missing. According to an official update at 11 am, 2.8 lakh people have been sheltered in 1,654 relief camps across the state.

"40 lives have been lost in Maharashtra, 32 in Karnataka and 24 in Gujarat. Major rivers like the Tungabhadra, Krishna in AP/Telangana and their tributaries are in spate and continue to cause immense destruction and damage," the statement read. The CPIM also requested the Central government to assist the states in tackling this calamity.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Aug 12, 2019 04:29 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).