Kerala govt considering legal action against PM Modi for Somalia remark: Chandy

Escalating his attack against Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his controversial comparison of Kerala with Somalia, Chief Minister Oommen Chandy on Thursday said the state government was 

considering legal action against him.

As Modi faced more heat from the Congress and the CPI-M for his remark, Chandy said he had “humiliated” Keralites the world over and that people of the state expected an unconditional apology from him and not his silence after it whipped up a controversy. Chandy also asked Modi to withdraw the remark. CPI-M said the situation in the state did not become like the African country because BJP never came to power here.

The comparison made by Modi at a poll rally in the state early this week when he said the “infant mortality rate among the scheduled tribe community in Kerala is worse than Somalia” has set off a political storm and triggered criticism in the social media.

Twitter users have responded with hashtag #PoMoneModi (Get lost Modi), a take off from the Mohanlal starrer, which features the famous punch line Po Mone Dinesha to ridicule some of the characters of his hit film Narasimham.

“He is the Prime Minister of the country...He humiliated the people of Kerala by comparing the state with Somalia. We see it very seriously. The Prime Minister made statement based on certain media reports...It is wrong..,” Chandy told a meet-the-press programme, organised by the Ernakulam press club in Kochi.

“Since he is the Prime Minister, he should have checked official records before making such statements. We are planning to take legal action (against the Prime Minister). Moving the Election Commission on this issue is also in our consideration,” Chandy said. Earlier in the day, in his Facebook post, Chandy, who had shot off a protest letter to PM on the issue, accused Modi of keeping mum on the controversy during his rally at Thrippunithura near Kochi late evening on Wednesday.

Stating that Kerala is far ahead than BJP-ruled Gujarat in addressing infant mortality rate and issue of malnutrition, the chief minister said what Keralites want is not his silence, but an unconditional apology from the Prime Minister.