The Prime Minister’s comment likening Kerala to Somalia has not gone down well with the Chief Minister and he has now written a stinging letter to Narendra Modi.
''The unemployment rate in Kerala is at least three-times higher than the national average. Infant mortality rate among the Scheduled Tribe community in Kerala is worse than Somalia,” the PM has commented while addressing election rallies in the state on Monday.
Replying to the PM’s comments, CM Oommen Chandy in his letter wrote that the people of Kerala were shocked to hear the comments.
Here are five points raised by the CM.
On comparing Kerala to Somalia: Kerala is above the national average in terms of economic growth and human resource development for the past five years. Kerala's human resource has caught the attention of the world. Yet, you compared Kerala to Somalia that is reeling under poverty and internal strife. Is it not Kerala a State in India? And is it not a shame for the prime minister to pronounce that a State like Somalia exists in the country? This is unbecoming of a prime minister and has created a great deal of agony and protest.
On the PM’s comments about a picture of children eating from garbage dump: It turned out to be far away from truth when you said that an image of a boy eating from waste dump at Peravoor in Kannur district of Kerala, stirred your mind.
As per the report of the Director of Scheduled Tribe Development Department submitted to the government on 18-11-2015, these children studying in the 5th and 6th standards at Vekkalam U.P. School are facing complaints of skipping classes and trespassing farmlands and residential properties. They rarely go to school. Every day, these children after having food would leave their homes at their convenience. They are in the habit of jumping the walls of the waste treatment plant and pick the scrap, which they sell to buy food of their liking from hotels.
I can assure you that no child in Kerala takes stale food. In Kerala, 25.02 lakh school- going students are being provided with free mid-day meal We had requested the Union government for CBI enquiry to find out the conspiracy behind the murder of T P Chandrasekharan. Unfortunately, till date, the Union government has not responded to this request. One is forced to suspect whether this attitude of the Union government is an outcome of the nexus between the BJP and the CPM. and egg on one day and milk on another in a week.
On CPI(M) rebel TP Chandrasekaharan’s murder: We had requested the Union government for CBI enquiry to find out the conspiracy behind the murder of T P Chandrasekharan. Unfortunately, till date, the Union government has not responded to this request. One is forced to suspect whether this attitude of the Union government is an outcome of the nexus between the BJP and the CPM.