Kerala CM mulls legal action against Modi

Top Stories

Kerala CM mulls legal action against Modi
Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressing an election campaign rally at Trivandrum recently.

Trivandrum - The chief minister pointed out that Modi had made the remark based on a media report about two boys eating out of a waste dump in Kannur district.

By TK Devasia

  • Follow us on
  • google-news
  • whatsapp
  • telegram

Published: Fri 13 May 2016, 3:39 PM

The raging row over Prime Minister Narendra Modi's comparison of Kerala with Somalia has taken a serious turn with the state government planning legal action against the former.
Chief Minister Oommen Chandy told reporters at Cochin on Thursday that he had expected Modi to withdraw his controversial remark in his last election meeting in the state on Wednesday. He has kept silence on the issue even after he was told that his allegation was not based on facts.
"This has shocked the people in the state. We are consulting legal experts whether we can take up the matter with the Election Commission since the Prime Minister had insulted the people in an election meeting," Chandy said.
The chief minister pointed out that Modi had made the remark based on a media report about two boys eating out of a waste dump in Kannur district. Following the report, the government had asked the police and the tribal welfare department to inquire into the matter.
"Both agencies said that the report was baseless. They had submitted the report after checking with the families of the two boys, school authorities and the ration shop from where the families fetch their ration. The inquiry showed that there was no shortage of food in their families," he added.
Meanwhile, leaders of various parties joined the issue by mounting an attack on Modi. Congress Working Committee (CWC) said that Modi's comparison of Kerala with a country of pirates and starving children was outrageous.
Communist Party of India (Marxist) general secretary Sitaram Yechury termed Modi's remark ridiculous. He said that even school children were aware that Kerala was top in human development indices in the country, he added.
Party politburo member Pinarayi Vijayan said that Modi should have looked at the records of his home state of Gujarat before making the statement.


More news from