PM’s statement on nurses, a disgrace: Oommen Chandy

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Former chief minister Oommen Chandy has flayed the statement made by prime minister Narendra Modi against the nurses from Kerala during his election campaign tour in Meghalaya.
In a letter written to the prime minister, the former chief minister said ``the statements you had given about the nurses from Kerala during the election campaign in Meghalaya is very upsetting. As the Prime Minister of world's greatest secular democratic nation your words are highly outrageous.’’

Modi had said that his government had rescued the Malayali nurses from Iraq who were under the custody of ISIS and all of them were Christians.

It happened as a result of joint efforts put on by the then UDF led state government and the BJP led Central government. The Malayali community in the gulf countries had supported that unanimously. As a person who witnessed the pain and anguish of their families, all of us had been a part of that, not because they are Christians, but what held us on, was that they are Indians and they were in deep trouble. I'm sure that Smt. Sushma Swaraj will vouch with me on this, said Oommen Chandy in a letter written to the prime minister.

He alleged that it was such a disgrace that you minisculed this great rescue operation done by the government targeting the majority Christian vote base in Meghalaya. The uniqueness of our nation is our diversity. The patriotism which unites our Hindhus, Christians, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains and all the other religions in troubled times and in celebrations in spite of the religious differences, Chandy added.

During the Lok Sabha election campaigning in 2014, the BJP alleged that the Italian marines held for the killing of fishermen will use Sonia Gandhi’s Italian connection for their bail. But they were bailed out during the BJP’s rule and as everyone is aware, they were in the prison during UPA's time, said Chandy.