After Somalia dig, Centre takes credit for returning Keralites trapped abroad

Modi's Somalia comparison had attracted criticism from state with Chandy demanding an apology from the Prime Minister.

On the backfoot after Prime Minister Narendra Modi compared Kerala to Somalia at a rally Sunday, the Centre bounced back today by stating it had successfully been able to evacuate over a dozen Keralites from strife-torn Libya.

After 29 Indians, including 16 Keralites, returned from Libya on Thursday, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj took to Twitter to target Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy.

She tweeted, “We evacuated thousands of Indians from Kerala from Iraq, Libya and Yemen. Who paid for them ”

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

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

Chandy had started the day on Facebook on Thursday berating the Prime Minister for not withdrawing his ‘Somalia’ remarks. He said Modi owed an apology to the state.

In his Facebook post, Chandy said Modi had kept mum on the controversy and what Keralites wanted was not his silence, but an unconditional apology from the Prime Minister.

"Prime Minister Narendra Modi left the election campaign rally (on Sunday) without answering my questions. It could be due to the wide criticism he had received not only from the state, but also from the Malayali community the world over," Chandy said.

In a hard-hitting letter, Chandy lambasted Modi recently for comparing Kerala to Somalia during his poll campaign rally here, saying he has insulted the state.

He had also requested Modi to show some "political decency" by withdrawing the statement as they were "baseless and contrary to ground realities".

"The people of Kerala, whose self-pride was wounded by the Prime Minister's statement, expected an unconditional apology from him and not his silence. But it didn't happen," he said adding that Keralites still hoped he would withdraw his 'Somalia' remark.

On Sunday, while addressing an election rally, Modi had said the infant mortality rate among scheduled tribals in the state was worse than that of the African country Somalia, which triggered widespread criticism among political parties in Kerala.

Social media also witnessed campaigns with hashtag #PoMoneModi (Go Off Modi) mocking the Prime Minister over this comparison.