Chief Minister Oommen Chandy has said that a petition will be filed with the Election Commission against Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s remarks comparing Kerala and Somalia.
Addressing a meet-the-press held at the Ernakulam Press Club here on Thursday, Mr. Chandy said the legal nitty-gritty was being worked out. Mr. Modi had the best opportunity to correct the baseless allegation while campaigning in Thripunithura on Wednesday.
“The Prime Minister chose to remain silent despite my letter officially informing that it was factually incorrect. Mr. Modi’s silence has shocked Kerala and Malayalis across the world.
He forgot that Kerala is an integral part of India of which he is the Prime Minister,” Mr. Chandy said.
HDI indicators
Quoting extensively from the Human Development Index (HDI), Mr. Chandy said that Kerala topped it and had a better average than the national average in all indicators ranging from literacy, infant and mother death rates, and life expectancy to child nutrition.
“If he compares Kerala with Somalia, what would he say about Gujarat, which is 11th in the HDI, and the rest of the country,” Mr. Chandy asked.
He said that the BJP would not open account in the State.
If their previous avatar Jan Sangh could not manage it in 1977 despite the Marxist party backing it, they could not now.
Mr. Chandy said that the United Democratic Front (UDF) has an edge in all Assembly constituencies across the State, which he attributed to the unity within the front camp. The UDF government had never shrugged its responsibility in living up to its promise of development and care while “escapism’ was the hallmark of the previous Left Democratic Front government.
‘Modi forgot that Kerala is an integral part of India of which he is the Prime Minister’
