THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Former chief minister Oommen Chandy slammed Prime Minister Modi for his statement that his government had rescued "Christian" nurses from the jaws of death in Iraq. By specifying Christians, he was trying to woo the majority Christian community in the state. However, while saying so the Prime Minster has undermined the constitution, Mr Chandy said.
"As the Prime Minister of world's greatest secular democratic nation your words are highly outrageous. In 2014 July, 46 Malayali nurses were brought back from war-torn Iraq, rescuing from the jaws of death after being held captive by ISIS (Islamic State of Iraq and Syria) for 23 days. It happened as a result of joint efforts put on by the then UDF led state government and the BJP led Central government," he said in a letter to the Prime Minister.
He said 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 for my statement," he said. Mr Chandy said in politics allegations and accusations were normal but Mr Modi should remember that he is the Prime Minister of the people of the entire country.
