BJP leadership to clarify on Somalia remark

Thrissur: Union minister of state for tourism Dr Mahesh Sharma on Friday said the Prime Minister’s Office and BJP national leadership will soon clarify on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s remarks comparing the condition of the tribespeople in Kerala to those in Somalia.

The minister, at a press conference here, said Modi’s remarks were misinterpreted. “It was V S Achuthanandan who first compared the condition of the tribespeople in Kerala to that in Somalia. I had spoken to the national leaders and they said they would clarify the PM's remarks soon,” Dr Sharma said.

Defence minister Manohar Parikkar, who was in Alappuzha on Friday, too said the PM’s statement was misinterpreted. “He did not compare the whole of Kerala with Somalia, but only Attapadi, that too based on international study reports. There is nothing wrong in it,” Parikkar said.