Sushma Swaraj vs Oommen Chandy: War of words over Keralites' evacuation

Chandy said today that Kerala government paid for return of 29 Indians including 16 keralites from Libya

The ongoing battle between the Centre and Kerala chief minister Oommen Chandy escalated on social networking site Twitter. This time it was Minister of External Affairs Sushma Swaraj who pushed out a series of tweets aimed at Chandy, reminding him that they had evacuated thousands of Keralites from strife-torn Libya, Iraq and Yemen.

Mr.Chandy - We evacuated thousands of Indians from Kerala from Iraq, Libya and Yemen. Who paid for them ?

— Sushma Swaraj (@SushmaSwaraj) May 12, 2016

Mr.Chandy - You said 'Kerala paid for 29 Indians evacuated from Libya.'

— Sushma Swaraj (@SushmaSwaraj) May 12, 2016

Mr.Chandy - You started this debate - as to Who paid ? Not me. We always did this because this is our pious duty towards our citizens.

— Sushma Swaraj (@SushmaSwaraj) May 12, 2016

The provocation for this attack by Swaraj on Chandy came from a statement that he made today about Kerala  government paying for the return of 29 Indians including 16 keralites from Libya. Chandy also said that they had to 'push' the Centre to act.  

 

“In fact, we paid for travel,” Chandy said.

The war of words need to be seen in the context of the state going to polls on 16th May. Chandy had earlier taken offence to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's statement linking the state's infant mortality rate among scheduled tribes to Somalia. While Chandy sought an apology, the Prime Minister has maintained his silence on the issue.  
 

Social media also witnessed campaigns with hashtag #PoMoneModi (Go Off Modi) thrashing at  Modi over his comparison.

Twitteratis have also reacted to Swaraj's tweets, with some reminding both leaders not to play politics with rescue and relief work. 

Malayalees, 2.8% of our population, bring in a quarter of foreign remittances - about 1.2 lakh crore rupees. https://t.co/OxBOniox7z

— Tony Joseph (@tjoseph0010) May 12, 2016

@SushmaSwaraj's tweet implies that GOI did a favour to Kerala by bringing back stranded Indians. Disgraceful. https://t.co/oDCdFAZYcd

— Salil Tripathi (@saliltripathi) May 12, 2016