As Congress leader Mani Shankar Aiyar set a new low in politics by describing Prime Minister Narendra Modi a ‘neech’ (vile man), the latter strongly slammed Aiyar for inflicting ‘an insult’ on Gujarat and reflecting ‘Mughal mentality’. Initially, Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi sought to undo the damage by promptly demanding an apology from his party leader for using the foul language, but later the Congress suspended Aiyar from the primary membership of the party. The Congress also issued him a show-cause notice.
With a disapproval coming from the party leadership, Aiyar later apologised saying “...I am a freelance Congressi, I hold no post in the party, so I can reply to the PM in his language. I meant low level when I said ‘neech’, I think in English when I speak in Hindi as Hindi is not my mother tongue. So if it has some other meaning then I apologise. I never called Modi a low born.”
As if the intense slugfest between the Congress and the BJP in the Gujarat poll was not enough, Aiyar, who in 2014 created a storm by calling Modi ‘chaiwala”, added fuel to the fire by again making a derogatory remark against him.
“He (Modi) is ‘neech kism ka aadmi’ (a vile man) who has no ‘sabhyata’ (civility),” Aiyar said, attacking Modi after the latter accused the Congress of seeking votes in BR Ambedkar’s name but trying to erase his contribution to building India. Aiyar claimed that it was first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, who recognised Ambedkar’s potential.
Earlier in the day while inaugurating the Ambedkar International Centre here, the PM lashed out at the Congress and apparently “the dynasty”, saying parties seeking votes in the name of the architect of the Indian Constitution tried to erase his contribution to the nation building.
“Such was his (Ambedkar’s) incredible strength that despite years of efforts by such people to crush his philosophy and erase his contribution towards the nation building his ideals could not be wiped out from people’s memory,” the PM said.
Modi said he would not be wrong in saying that “more people are still influenced by his (Ambedkar’s) ideas than the family for which such efforts (to erase his contribution) were made”.
Aiyar asked Modi, “What is the need for doing dirty politics on such an occasionIJ”
Modi, who was in Surat, latched on to Aiyar’s comments, saying it was an insult to Gujarat. “Mani Shankar Aiyar today said I belong to ‘neech’ caste, I am ‘neech’ (vile), this is an insult to Gujarat,” he told an election rally.
“This is Mughal mentality which hates people who even wear good clothes,” he said but asked BJP workers and supporters not to react or respond to Aiyar’s remarks.
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley too hit out at Aiyar for his “neech” remark against the PM, saying it displays the mindset that “only one elite family” can rule this country and the rest are only the ‘neech’..
Reacting to Aiyar’s remark, Jaitley said the Congress party has challenged the weaker and backward sections of India by calling the Prime Minister “neech”.
“The strength of India’s democracy will be displayed when a person of humble background politically defeats the dynasty and its representatives,” the Finance Minister tweeted.
Pushed on the back foot with the poll fever on in the key State, the Congress too strongly disapproved of Aiyar’s remarks, with party vice-president Rahul saying he and the party expected the leader to tender an apology.
“BJP and PM routinely use filthy language to attack the Congress party. The Congress has a different culture and heritage. I do not appreciate the tone and language used by Aiyar to address the PM. Both the Congress and I expect him to apologise for what he said,” Rahul tweeted.