Headlines
Chandy praises Modi's help in evacuating Keralites
By
Sanu GeorgeThiruvananthapuram, May 19
Politically he
doesn't agree with the prime minister but Kerala Chief Minister Oommen
Chandy is happy that Narendra Modi helped evacuate Keralites from
troubled spots in the Middle East.
Asked to sum up one year of
Modi's rule at the head of the union government, Chandy expressed
appreciation for all the assistance provided by New Delhi vis-a-vis
Keralites in Iraq, Libya and Yemen.
Chandy said that, in contrast to other opposition parties, that there were cordial centre-state relations with Modi at the helm.
"We
will always speak about differences of opinion on issues. But the
central government did help us when it came to evacuating our nurses
from Iraq, Libya and Yemen," the chief minster told IANS in a brief
interview.
More than 1,000 Kerala nurses were flown out of the
three countries starting from June last year after violence erupted in
all three places, putting their lives in danger.
Chandy visited New Delhi a few times for this and interacted with External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj.
The
last of the Keralites returned in April this year. For this too, the
central government sent additional aircraft as well as naval and two
passenger ships to evacuate Indians from Yemen.
The chief
minister also said the central government's decision on providing
viability gap funding for the proposed Vizhinjam port had been
appreciated in Kerala. This is the first time in India when New Delhi
agreed to pump in about Rs.800 crore as viability gap funding for a port
project.
But Chandy said there were other issues on which the Modi government could be faulted.
Citing
an example, he said Modi's biggest campaign pledge during the Lok Sabha
election was to bring down the prices of food and other essential
commodities.
"One has to look at the international oil prices and see what's happening," he said.
"Oil
prices are climbing here, like never before. As everyone knows, the
price of oil is directly linked to the increase in prices. Was he able
to do anything on this front?"
Another major election promise by
Modi related to the poor and farmers when he said that their lot would
be transformed within a year, the Congress leader said. "After a year,
see what has happened.
"The poor have been let down badly. The
farmer's plight is no better. In the name of development, he has
forgotten the poor and the farmers and the biggest beneficiary of his
plans are the big corporates," said Chandy.
What about Modi's style of governance?
Chandy said the disbanding of the Planning Commission, which had existed since 1952, was baffling.
"A
year later, it seems the government is groping in the dark about the
new body (NITI Aayog) that has replaced the Commission. No one knows
what's happening," he said.
(Sanu George can be contacted at [email protected])