It was in 2015 when Congress senior most leader and former Minister Mani Shankar Aiyar went to Pakistan and spewed his hatred towards Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He sparked controversy by reportedly saying, at the time of a panel discussion on a Pakistani news channel, that Indian Prime Minister needs to be removed if talks between the two neighbouring nations have to go smoothly.
The Congress leader’s offensive remarks triggered a sharp response from BJP and RJD, with the saffron outfit saying Congress president Sonia Gandhi and vice-president Rahul Gandhi should respond to this matter and let the entire nation know their outlook on the issue.
The Congress said BJP’s charges were “absolute nonsense” and that Mani Shankar Aiyar briefed to the party that “he had not uttered such words”.
But when the anchor of Duniya TV asked what is to be done to end the stand-off in the relations between the India and Pakistan, Aiyar responded, “The first and the foremost thing is to remove Modi. Only then can the talks move forward. We have to wait for four more years. They (panellists) are all optimist and that .. we can move forward when Modi sahab is there, but I don’t think so.”
He further said, adding that “Bring us (the Congress) back to power and remove them. There is no other way (to better the relations). We will remove them, but till then you (Pakistan) have to wait.”
When asked for his response to the issue, Congress leader Tom Vaddakan said, “This is absolute nonsense. I have a letter with me written by Mr Aiyer in which he categorically denies saying anything like that. So there is no question of distancing from it.”
While BJP termed it as “extremely serious, worrisome and completely incorrect.”
