Invoking Somalia comment, Digvijay Singh thanks PM for hailing Kerala as God's country

PANAJI: Congress leader Digvijay Singh today invoked Prime Minister's May speech wherein he had "compared" Kerala with "impoverished Somalia" and expressed gratefulness that Narendra Modi's perception "changed" and he has now hailed the state as God's own country.

"The Prime Minister, in his speech at Kozhikode during the BJP's National Council meet, made a statement on Kerala. In past, he had compared Kerala with Somalia (in terms of child death ratio among Scheduled Tribes).

"Now we are very much grateful to PM for changing his perception about Kerala and recognising it as God's Own Country," Singh said here.

He was talking to reporters after chairing a meeting of Goa Pradesh Congress Committee on selection of candidates for the next year's Assembly elections.

Modi, in his speech on Saturday had said, "When we think of Kerala, we think of God's own country, it has an impression of purity and holiness."

In May, At an election rally in Kerala, the Prime Minister has said, "The situation with the child death ratio among Scheduled Tribes in Kerala is scarier than even Somalia."

People from the state had taken to social media to protest against the "comparision".

To a question, Singh said Congress is opposed to casino industry in the tourist state of Goa.

"We don't want Goa to become another Macau (a tiny Chinese territory which has a thriving casino industry). We want people to get employment in the tourism sector, which is the backbone of the state's economy," he said.

The former Madhya Pradesh chief minister said, "We need to look at the issues related to casinos. We don't want Goa to be known only for casinos and gambling."