Kerala Youth Congress under fire over alleged misuse of Wayanad relief funds

Lack of transparency

The initiative, announced shortly after the landslides, was launched with emotional appeals, fundraisers, and widespread mobilisation by Youth Congress workers. But it was during the organisation’s state leadership camp in Alappuzha last weekend that accusations of lack of transparency surfaced from within — sparking intense debate within the Congress and among the public.

The Youth Congress had declared it would construct 30 houses for landslide victims in Wayanad, with funds collected from the public, party sympathisers, and youth workers. However, at the Alappuzha camp, discontent broke out over how the funds were being handled. Several Youth Congress members raised questions about the accounting process, lack of clarity on project status, and whether money collected was being channelled correctly.

Police complaint

While the state leadership dismissed these as internal misunderstandings, the issue escalated further when a Kochi-based lawyer, Lakshmi TR filed a police complaint on July 1 against eight Youth Congress leaders, accusing them of cheating and financial misconduct.

Lakshmi’s complaint alleged that the leaders raised money in the name of a noble cause but failed to follow through on their promise of constructing houses.

Also read: Kerala govt to deposit Rs 17 cr more for Wayanad rehabilitation township land: HC

“In legal terms, this amounts to cheating,” the complainant stated. “They raised money citing a noble cause, promising to build houses for specific victims. But there’s been no follow-up. Where is the money that was collected? The people who donated have been deceived. Turning a disaster into an opportunity for financial gain is utterly disgraceful", said Lakshmi.

The filing of the complaint led to a political uproar, with Opposition leaders and civil society activists demanding a probe. On social media, calls for transparency in the Youth Congress's handling of disaster relief funds gained traction, with several users comparing it unfavourably to the DYFI’s 2024 post-landslide campaign.

Baseless, says Congress

State Youth Congress president Rahul Mamkoottathil strongly refuted the allegations, calling them “politically motivated and baseless.” He said that around ₹84 lakh had been collected so far and that no funds had been misused. The plan, according to Mamkoottathil, was to build the homes once land was allocated by the state government.

Backing him, Shafi Parambil, MP and KPCC working president, said the entire controversy was an attempt to derail the Youth Congress’s commitment to social responsibility.

“It’s the government’s responsibility to provide land for housing, and that hasn’t happened. The collected fund is with the KPCC, and not a single paisa has been misused. The DYFI may have handed over their contribution to the government, but we won’t do that. Let the government identify the land — Congress will build the houses. What the government wants is to take control of the entire fund,” he said.

Also read: Centre gave no aid for Wayanad rehab, only 'negligible' help: Priyanka

Wide praise for DYFI, AIYF

The controversy has thrown into stark contrast the different approaches of the Left youth organisations – DYFI and AIYF – and Youth Congress. After the same Wayanad landslides, the DYFI had pledged to build 100 homes and fulfilled that promise by directly donating ₹20 crore to the CMDRF — an amount equating to ₹20 lakh per house.

The move drew wide praise for its transparency and efficiency.

"We did not collect money directly. Instead, we organised public campaigns like the biriyani challenge, our comrades collected and sold scrap, and many of us took up daily-wage jobs collectively to contribute. As a youth organisation, we are proud to have raised ₹20.47 crore, which we handed over to the Chief Minister’s Distress Relief Fund," V K Sanoj, DYFI's state secretary told The Federal.

Initially, the DYFI had planned to build just 25 houses. However, the overwhelming public response to their efforts encouraged them to quadruple the target, and they ultimately handed over funds sufficient to build 100 houses.

The AIYF, the CPI's youth wing, had also raised ₹1 crore, which has already been handed over to the Chief Minister.

Mishandling public trust

The Youth Congress too opted for a decentralised model, collecting funds district by district with plans to undertake construction directly. However, with no follow-up action initiated so far and the project timeline unclear, critics have accused the Youth Congress of mishandling public trust.

The CPI(M) and DYFI leadership have used the moment to attack the Congress. “When you ask for money in the name of disaster relief, the first condition is accountability. DYFI made its contribution without ambiguity — to the state, for the people," said VK Sanoj, DYFI state secretary.

Also read: Wayanad landslide: Rehab of victims hits roadblock after firm moves HC

According to the Youth Congress leaders, they have handed over the collected funds to the Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee. The party leadership has promised to take over financial oversight, streamline documentation, and liaise with the state government on land identification.

This move also links back to an earlier Congress initiative — KPCC’s 2018 post-flood promise of constructing 1,000 houses for affected families, many of which are still pending.

Credibility test

The issue has become a major embarrassment for the Congress party, especially as it heads into a crucial pre-election season. Critics from within the party have also questioned why a public-facing initiative of this scale was launched without clear project management protocols or coordination with the KPCC from the outset.

“We have to admit that we couldn’t follow through on those big promises. The way our party functions is quite different from the communists, who operate with a strong cadre system. Our former PCC president did try to introduce a semi-cadre model within the Congress, but it didn’t really take off. That said, DYFI does have more full-time grassroots workers who are able to take up such initiatives. Still, that doesn’t mean our boys are corrupt,” a senior Congress leader told The Federal.

On social media and in public forums, reactions have been mixed. Youth Congress supporters argue that the organisation’s intent was noble and that bureaucratic delays — not leadership failures — stalled the project. Critics accuse them of collecting money from the public without a clear implementation plan or timeline is unacceptable.

Now that the KPCC is in charge of the funds, the immediate task is to work with the government to identify land in Wayanad, finalise beneficiaries, and begin construction. Youth Congress leaders insist that the homes will be built as promised — but with mounting public scrutiny, delays may further erode confidence.

Meanwhile, the police are examining the complaint filed by Lakshmi TR, and a preliminary inquiry is reportedly underway.

For the Youth Congress, what began as a gesture of solidarity in a time of crisis has now become a credibility test — one that will be judged not by speeches or counters, but by bricks, mortar, and delivery on the ground.