Cong CM praises Modi

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.

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 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.

"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.