S Sreesanth is one of the BJP's most prominent faces for the 2016 Kerala assembly elections.
Highlights
- PM Modi raised an important issue, what he said was true: Sreesanth
- PM had compared infant mortality rate in Kerala tribal belt to Somalia
- Comment had sparked an outrage on social media and among Opposition
Geared up for the last day of election campaign in Kerala, BJP's star candidate S Sreesanth today defended PM Modi's controversial comment of likening
infant mortality rates in tribal belts in Kerala to Somalia.
"I support the Prime Minister. He had raised a very important issue and what he said is very much true. In any case, he did not compare the whole of Kerala to Somalia. Many Malayalis did not understand what he said but instead, reacted very oddly," Sreesanth told NDTV.
"It was blown out of proportion. It is very important to address the problems of Kerala," the former cricketer said.
PM Modi at an election rally on Sunday had compared the infant mortality rate of Kerala's tribal belt to Somalia, which sparked a backlash from some on social media as the hashtag #PoMoneModi trended on Twitter.
Derived from "Po Mone Dinesha", a famous line from a Malayalam film, the taint translated as "Go home boy, Modi".
Chief Minister Oommen Chandy also wrote off a strongly-worded letter to the Prime Minister asking him to "show some political decency by withdrawing his baseless statement".
"Is not Kerala part of India? How could you compare a state of India to Somalia?" Mr Chandy had asked PM Modi in his letter.
Voting for the 2016 assembly elections in Kerala will be held on Monday with the results due on May 19.