Insult to state will be resisted, says Oommen Chandy

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Former chief minister Oommen Chandy on Friday attacked the BJP national president Amit Shah saying that any insult to the people of the state would be fought back unitedly. In a Facebook post, Mr Chandy said it was pathetic that Mr Shah was attacking Kerala when his own Gujarat model of development has been a total failure. The BJP propaganda against Kerala will not succeed and the response of people reflects the anger against their devious designs, he added.

The Congress leader said the BJP campaign would fall flat in the state. The people of the state had reacted sharply against Prime Minister Narendra Modi when he compared Kerala to Somalia while talking about malnutrition among children, during the last Lok Sabha poll campaign.  Mr Chandy said the state upheld progressive ideals and progressive views in all spheres. From time to time the state had maintained high socio-economic- health indicators which are even comparable to the developed countries. 

The Congress leader said the Janaraksha Yatra was a cheap publicity stunt of Narendra Modi-led BJP to divert attention from the failures of Central Government in checking corruption and train accidents. Economic breakdown was the trademark of the BJP government. The former chief minister said people of many states including BJP ruled Gujarat were crying for raksha from the Central government which had heaped miseries on the people people and destroyed almost all sectors.