Vijayan pleased with Modi, aghast at Chandy

New Delhi, Jan 23 (IANS) Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Monday expressed happiness over his meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi when they discussed the ration crisis that the state is currently facing, and termed his predecessor Oommen Chandy as the 'villain for the present mess'.

"The PM assured us that he will look into the issues that Kerala is facing in distribution of rations. Union Food Minister Ram Vilas Paswan also sympathised with our genuine need and assured to look into all the issues that we raised," Vijayan told reporters here.

Statutory ration has been in place in Kerala since 1966 and till recently the annual supply of food grains from the Centre was 14.2 lakh tonnes and an additional supply of 2.2 lakh tonnes.

"The problem began ever since the previous UPA government came out with the Food Security Act, which was piloted by a Kerala Union Minister ( K.V.Thomas). Kerala was to do lot of homework for that and Chandy and his cabinet did not do it. They kept postponing it and then came a change in government here, last year," Vijayan said.

"Then it came to light that all the warnings that the Centre gave to Kerala to abide to the new FSA were over and Kerela had to face shortage of food grain supply," he added.

It is pertinent to mention that Vijayan's statement on Monday is contrary to what he said in November, when he went hammer and tongs against the latter at the height of the demonetisation woes.

Modi had denied permission to meet Vijayan, who was leading an all party delegation to present the troubles that Kerala citizens were facing on account of the curbs imposed on the cooperative banking sector.