Ex-Kerala CM had used Somalia analogy too

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: PM Narendra Modi wasn't the first politician to draw parallels between the living conditions of Kerala's tribals and those of Somalia. Communist veteran VS Achuthanandan had used a similar analogy in 2013 after he visited Attapadi following child deaths there, drawing the government's attention to "Somalia-type" conditions here.
Meanwhile, the stir over PM's 'Somalia remark' refused to die down on Thursday, with more politicians joining the issue and chief minister Oomen Chandy repeating his demand for a public apology and, according to PTI, also threatening legal action against him.Chandy also said he'd approach the election commission on the issue.
The PM issued a series of tweets saying wherever BJP formed government it tried to ensure overall development, while Communists only promoted hartals and Congress corruption.
The Somalia remark upset many Keralites, who saw it as an insult to Malayalee pride.This, despite the fact that a 2014 study by scholars of Chittur College, Palakkad, had analysed the livelihood status of tribes in Attapadi block and found that the human development indices (HDI) of this tribal block and countries like Somalia are almost similar.
Factually speaking, Modi perhaps wasn't off the mark.The Chittur College study said the development indices of the Irula, Muduga and Kurumba tribals of Attapadi were similar to countries like Somalia. Child rights activist Rajendra Prasad said Modi's remark had a rea son. Successive UDF and LDF governments have done nothing in the region. “The conditions are akin to what exist in an impoverished African country,“ he said. In three years 595 infants have died here and nothing has moved despite the government announcing a Rs 400-crore package for the region two years ago.
But with the BJP yet to hit back resolutely, Chandy kept the pressure going. In a Facebook post, he wrote: “The people of Kerala hoped he (Modi) would withdraw his statement which did not happen.“
On Thursday, BJP state president Kummanam Rajasekharan and Union minister H N Ananth Kumar tried to defend the PM, but tweets and Facebook posts with hashtag #PoMoneModi (Go away Modi) dominated cyberspace. “The PM never compared Kerala to Somalia but said it was a dangerous situation like in Somalia when child death rates among STs in Kerala are compared,'' said Rajasekharan.
Kerala CM, Sushma spar over Libya rescue
S marting under PM Modi's comparison of Kerala with Somalia, CM Oommen Chandy told a rally that it was his government, not the Centre, that paid for the return of 29 Indians evacuated from Libya, prompting foreign minister Sushma Swaraj to hit back on Twitter. "Mr Chandy-We evacuated thousands of Indians from Kerala from Iraq, Libya and Yemen. Who paid for them," Swaraj tweeted. In another tweet, she said, "Mr Chandy You started this debate as to who paid? We always did this because this is our pious duty towards our citizens."