Thu. Mar 28th, 2024

The senior Congress leader Mani Shankar Aiyar who was expelled from the party’s membership yesterday, for passing insulting comments on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, today in his statement to the press said that he will face any punishment if the Congress suffers any damage in Gujarat.

The suspended Congress leader, on Thursday, had called Narendra Modi a ‘neech aadmi’ (man of low origin). “Mujhko lagta hai, ki ye aadmi bahut neech kisam ka aadmi hai, isme koi sabhyata nahi hai. Aise mauke par is kisam ki gandi rajniti Karne ki kya avashyakta hai? (This shows the low-level mindset of the PM and one bereft of any manners. What is the need of doing such dirty politics on such an occasion),” Mani Shankar Aiyar had said.

As soon as the leader made the comments a political stir could be witnessed, when Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi, said that insulting the Prime Minister was not in the culture of the Congressmen and hence he asked Aiyar to apologize to the Narendra Modi. Also wanting to be on the safer side and not repeat the same mistake done in 2014, Congress also suspended Mani Shankar Aiyar and issued a show-cause notice to him for his remarks.

Meanwhile, the BJP did not leave any chance to attack the leader and pull down on the rising popularity of Congress ahead of the Gujarat assembly polls. Prime Minister attacking the party furiously for personally passing insulting comments on him, Modi in anger replied that the people of Gujarat will definitely give a befitting reply to the Congress, on 18 Dec, when the results will be declared. He also took a jibe on the party and Mani Shankar Aiyar said that the Congress leader had in conversation with the leaders from Pakistan had asked to remove Modi.

Mani Shankar Aiyar in Nov 2015 on a Pakistani news channel. When asked how to improve the ties between India and Pakistan Aiyar had replied that “The first and the foremost thing is to remove Narendra Modi. Only then can the talks move forward. We have to wait for four more years. They (panelists) are all optimists and say that we can move forward when Modi sahab is there, but I don’t think so.”

Attacking the Congress leader for this statement, while addressing the gathering during a rally in Banaskantha Modi said that “Mani Shankar Aiyar told people when he visited Pakistan – remove Modi from the way and then see what happens to India-Pakistan peace. What did he mean by removing me from the way? And what is my crime? That I have blessings of the people?”

Meanwhile, addressing a rally in Chota Udaipur, Congress Vice President, Rahul Gandhi, signifying that the party had no connections with the comments made by Mani Shankar Aiyar and the party totally condemned his remarks on the Prime Minister. “The Congress Party respects the chair of Prime Minister. No one in the Congress is allowed to insult the Prime Minister. Modiji can say anything about us. That is why we took strict action against Mani Shankar Aiyar,” he said. He further confidently claimed that the Congress will win the Gujarat elections saying, “no one can stop it. A storm is coming.”