Chandy flays Modi for his silence over Somalia remark row

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Press Trust of India Thiruvananthapuram
Last Updated : May 12 2016 | 1:42 PM IST
Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy has flayed Prime Minister Narendra Modi for not withdrawing his controversial comment comparing Kerala and Somalia during his final election campaign rally in the state.
In his Facebook post, Chandy said Modi had kept mum on the controversy and what Keralites want is not his silence, but an unconditional apology from the Prime Minister.
"Prime Minister Narendra Modi left the election campaign rally without answering my questions. It could be due to the wide criticism he had received not only from the state, but also from Malayali community world over," Chandy said.
In a hard-hitting letter, Chandy had lambasted Modi recently for comparing Kerala to Somalia during his poll campaign rally here, saying he has insulted the state.
He had also requested Modi to show some "political decency" by withdrawing the statement as they are "baseless and contrary to ground realities.
"The people of Kerala, whose self-pride was wounded by the Prime Minister's statement, expected an unconditional apology from him and not his silence.But it didn't happen," he said adding that Keralites still hoped he would withdraw his 'Somalia' remark.
Modi had compared the infant mortality rate among tribals in the state with that of African country Somalia during the poll campaign rally earlier this week, which triggered widespread criticism among political parties in Kerala.
Social media had also witnessed campaigns with hashtag #PoMoneModi (Go Off Modi) mocking at the Prime Minister over his comparison.
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First Published: May 12 2016 | 1:42 PM IST

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