Kodiyeri blames CM, ministers for Modi's Somalia jibe

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: CPM state secretary Kodiyeri Balakrishnan, while pointing at a `public backlash' against the BJP after PM Narendra Modi's Somalia jibe, blamed chief minister Oommen Chandy, his cabinet colleagues and other UDF leaders for paving the way for BJP leaders to take out such `bogus campaigns' before elections.
“Till today, Kerala was spared from any `Somalia situation' as the people were able to keep the BJP at bay .Voters here will remain vigilant and prevent BJP's entry ,“ he said on Thursday .
Turning his ire on Chandy , the CPM leader said Modi and his henchmen got the courage to insult Keralites due to the `soft approach' by the government. “Chandy was silent when minister Shibu Baby John and MLAs AP Abdullakutty and K M Shaji hailed the Gujarat model of development, withdrew criminal cases against BJPRSS workers and even went soft on RSS agendas like the ban on beef. Now, the UDF should tender a public apology for allowing BJP to make such slanderous statements,“ he said.
He said Modi, while equating LDF and UDF , was trying to capitalize on the anti-UDF sentiments prevailing in the state and to overcome the pro-LDF trends.