Evacuation calculation: Chandy, Swaraj in swagger war over Libya rescue

New Delhi/Thiruvananthapuram: Amidst the fierce electoral battle in Kerala, a war of words broke out between Chief Minister Oommen Chandy and External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj on Thursday for taking credit for evacuation of 29 Indians from war-torn Libya. The political fight errupted a day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi said his government has evacuated the families from Libya and that the Centre was committed to work for welfare of Indians living abroad. Kerala goes to polls on 16 May. Modi is already under mounting attack from the Opposition parties for his controversial comment in an election rally comparing Kerala and Somalia while talking about the infant mortality rate among tribals in the state. [caption id=“attachment_2779018” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Indians being evacuated from Libya. File photo Reuters[/caption] A total of 29 Indians have been evacuated from Libya out of which 16 are from Kerala and they reached Kochi on Thursday morning. External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, who is recuperating in Aiims where she was admitted on 25 April, took to Twitter to blame Chandy for triggering the debate.

Mr.Chandy - You started this debate - as to Who paid ? Not me. We always did this because this is our pious duty towards our citizens.

— Sushma Swaraj (@SushmaSwaraj) May 12, 2016

Earlier, Chandy said the State government is bearing the travel expense of the families, indicating that the Centre had not extended the financial assistance for their travel. “Sushma Swaraj paid for the earlier evacuations. This time we are paying for their travel,” Chandy said. In an election rally on Wednesday, Modi had said, “Our government has saved six families and evacuated 29 people. The Indian government is committed to working for people who go abroad to work, we have always tried to help them. It gives me immense pleasure and happiness to tell you that they are coming back and will be united with their families soon,” Modi said. When asked about the controversy, External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Vikas Swarup said the Indian Mission there was in constant touch with the authorities and it was because of the embassy’s intervention that the Indians got their salaries and were issued exit visas. “Our embassy has constantly followed up the matter with the hospital as well as with the Ministry of Health of Libya…Our ambassador personally flew down to Tripoli on 28 April and met with the Chief of Protocol on 2 May to resolve the matter. “Thanks to the embassy’s intervention that their salaries were paid and their exit visas were issued and they were able to safely return to India today,” he said. The Indian Embassy in Libya has been relocated to Djerba in Tunisia because of escalation in violence in Libya.