Thiruvananthapuram: The Leader of the Opposition, V D Satheeshan, slammed the state government on Tuesday for showing laxity in the rehabilitation of Wayanad landslide victims and highlighted the state's "indifferent" attitude towards a letter from the Karnataka chief minister offering 100 houses for survivors.

V D Satheeshan, in a strongly worded statement, accused the Kerala government of committing a "crime" comparable to that of the central government's neglect of Wayanad. The Pinarayi Vijayan government failed to respond positively to Karnataka's promise, he said. Calling it a "serious situation" he added that the state did not even acknowledge the letter sent by Karnataka in this regard.

"The Kerala government is adopting an extremely irresponsible approach to Wayanad's rehabilitation. It is disgraceful that the state government showed indifference to Karnataka's letter promising 100 houses for landslide survivors," he said.

Satheesan further said Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah had to personally write to Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan after the chief secretary failed to respond to earlier correspondence. "It is shocking that the state government is ignoring the pain of people who have lost their homes and property," he said.

The Congress leader urged the Pinarayi government to either acquire land immediately to build houses for survivors or allow those offering assistance to purchase land and begin construction independently.

"We have scheduled to hold a meeting on December 17 to plan protests against the state government's inaction in rehabilitation efforts," Satheesan added.

The criticism comes after Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah expressed concern over the lack of communication from Kerala regarding guidelines to implement their offer of 100 houses in landslide-hit Wayanad.