Kerala mulls legal action on Modi

The Kerala government will probe the possibility of legal action against PM Narendra Modi for his controversial Kerala-Somalia comparison, chief minister Oommen Chandy has said. “Even after the state government sent an explanation letter along with an inquiry report on the Peravoor incident mentioned by the PM, he was not ready to withdraw the remarks during his visit to Kochi on Wednesday. He insulted the state and Keralites across the world who are upset over the remark,” Mr Chandy told reporters here on Thursday.

“Soon after his remarks, an explanation on the reported incident of tribal children in Peravoor foraging for food in a garbage pile was sent to the PM’s office. However, Modi was not ready to withdraw his wrong statement. We will approach the Election Commission seeking legal action,” Mr Chandy said.

“When Modi compared Kerala with Somalia, he conveniently forgot that he is the Prime Minister of the country. Even after strong protests, he was not ready to withdraw his absurd statement on Kerala whose high human development indicators are widely acknowledged,” he said.

“Though Modi can politically criticise the government, his remarks should be based on facts and figures as he is not only a BJP leader, but also the PM,” Mr Chandy said. He also compared some of the state’s high social indicators with that of Gujarat and the national average figures to prove the PM’s statement baseless.

Regarding the Peravoor incident, he said, “As per the inquiry report prepared after visiting the children’s houses and school, there was no poverty or lack of other basic facilities. Their parents are daily labourers and have sufficient income to raise their children,” he said.