NEW DELHI: Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi was being trolled on Twitter on Wednesday for comparing the coastal state of Kerala to Somalia in a recent election speech, NDTV reported.
Among the top twitter trends this morning was #PoMoneModi, which rips off “Po Mone Dinesha,” a famous line from a Malayalam film and translates as “Son, you’re dismissed, better head home.”
Kerala votes on Monday for its next government.
On Sunday, the premier said that for basic and essential health and development factors, Kerala is worse than Somalia, leading to public umbrage and a strong letter of complaint from Chief Minister Oommen Chandy that was made public yesterday.
Separately, India’s top court criticized the government Wednesday for failing to set up a disaster fund to help drought-hit farmers and villagers suffering crop losses and severe water shortages.
India is in the grip of its worst water crisis in years, with the government saying about 330 million people are suffering from drought after two weak monsoons.
Acting on a petition, the Supreme Court issued a slew of orders to the government including creating a national plan to tackle the crisis, a mitigation fund and standard procedures for declaring areas drought-hit.
Justice Madan B. Lokur also lashed out at the government over a lack of preparedness for the drought which has struck at least 10 states across the country.
“Evidently, anticipating a disaster such as a drought is not yet in the ‘things to do’ list of the Union of India and ad hoc measures and knee jerk reactions are the order of the day,” Lokur said in a written judgment.
“We are also quite surprised that the National Disaster Mitigation Fund has not yet been set up even after 10 years of the enforcement of the DM (Disaster Management) Act,” he also said.
Modi has met recently with at least three state chief ministers over the drought, as the government comes under intense pressure to ease the crisis.
Rural Development Minister Birender Singh told Parliament on Tuesday that millions in government funds have been released to drought-hit regions, as temperatures soar across the country in the summer months.
Industry body ASSOCHAM estimated on Wednesday the crisis would cost the economy $100 billion if it continued until the end of the year.
Poor rains have prompted extreme measures including water restrictions, armed guards at reservoirs and water trains sent to the worst-affected regions.
Farmer suicides are high and some have migrated to cities and towns to work as daily wage laborers to earn money. Villagers in remote areas are being forced to walk long distances to source drinking water as local wells dry up.
Officials have forecast an above-average monsoon this year, offering hope for the struggling agriculture sector that employs about 60 percent of the population.
Farmers across India rely on the monsoon — a four-month rainy season which starts in June — to cultivate crops.
anb/tha/ds
Among the top twitter trends this morning was #PoMoneModi, which rips off “Po Mone Dinesha,” a famous line from a Malayalam film and translates as “Son, you’re dismissed, better head home.”
Kerala votes on Monday for its next government.
On Sunday, the premier said that for basic and essential health and development factors, Kerala is worse than Somalia, leading to public umbrage and a strong letter of complaint from Chief Minister Oommen Chandy that was made public yesterday.
Separately, India’s top court criticized the government Wednesday for failing to set up a disaster fund to help drought-hit farmers and villagers suffering crop losses and severe water shortages.
India is in the grip of its worst water crisis in years, with the government saying about 330 million people are suffering from drought after two weak monsoons.
Acting on a petition, the Supreme Court issued a slew of orders to the government including creating a national plan to tackle the crisis, a mitigation fund and standard procedures for declaring areas drought-hit.
Justice Madan B. Lokur also lashed out at the government over a lack of preparedness for the drought which has struck at least 10 states across the country.
“Evidently, anticipating a disaster such as a drought is not yet in the ‘things to do’ list of the Union of India and ad hoc measures and knee jerk reactions are the order of the day,” Lokur said in a written judgment.
“We are also quite surprised that the National Disaster Mitigation Fund has not yet been set up even after 10 years of the enforcement of the DM (Disaster Management) Act,” he also said.
Modi has met recently with at least three state chief ministers over the drought, as the government comes under intense pressure to ease the crisis.
Rural Development Minister Birender Singh told Parliament on Tuesday that millions in government funds have been released to drought-hit regions, as temperatures soar across the country in the summer months.
Industry body ASSOCHAM estimated on Wednesday the crisis would cost the economy $100 billion if it continued until the end of the year.
Poor rains have prompted extreme measures including water restrictions, armed guards at reservoirs and water trains sent to the worst-affected regions.
Farmer suicides are high and some have migrated to cities and towns to work as daily wage laborers to earn money. Villagers in remote areas are being forced to walk long distances to source drinking water as local wells dry up.
Officials have forecast an above-average monsoon this year, offering hope for the struggling agriculture sector that employs about 60 percent of the population.
Farmers across India rely on the monsoon — a four-month rainy season which starts in June — to cultivate crops.
anb/tha/ds
