JOIN USAfter skipping the swearing-in ceremony, Oommen Chandy, who emerged victorious in the general elections in Kerala despite the apparent “Modi wave” in the country, on Monday became the first chief minister to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
In a meeting that was dubbed a “courtesy call” by the PMO and the Kerala chief minister, Chandy ensured Modi that his government would cooperate with the Centre.
“The Kerala government will cooperate with the Central government to ensure that the people of the state get their due,” Chandy told a press conference after a series of meetings in the capital. He said he would meet the prime minister again after the budget session to raise the concerns of the state. The meeting was held amid visible discomfort among the Congress leadership on the ascension of the BJP leader to the country’s top post, after all the party’s chief ministers skipped Modi’s swearing-in ceremony.
Chandy failing to get an appointment in the morning with Congress chief Sonia Gadhi and vice-president Rahul Gandhi sparked rumours about the party high command’s displeasure over the meeting with Modi.
However, the air was cleared later in the evening after Chandy met the Gandhis and party political secretary Ahmed Patel.