- Monday, May 20, 2024
Mani Shankar Aiyer, a former diplomat and Indian minister, also indirectly accused the Narendra Modi government of doing little to improve ties with Pakistan in the last 10 years.
By: Shubham Ghosh
JUST days after the Indian opposition Congress party was left embarrassed by allegedly racist remarks made by the former chairman of the Indian Overseas Congress, Sam Pitroda, against Indians, yet another controversy has put them under the scanner.
Mani Shankar Aiyer, a veteran leader of the party and a former diplomat and federal minister, was found saying in an old video that India should engage in talks with Pakistan and not flex its military muscles, cautioning that the latter is a nuclear power and could use the deadly weapons against India. The video, which went viral on social media, was perhaps shot in winter since Aiyar was seen wearing warm clothes.
Aiyar, who was born in present-day Pakistani city of Lahore before independence and was India’s first consul-general in Karachi, Pakistan’s only port city in the late 1970s and early 1980s, is known to be a vocal advocate of normalising India-Pakistan ties that are going through one of its dullest phases now. In the video, he said India could talk tough to Pakistan if it wanted but it would have to pay a heavy price if did not respect the neighbouring country.
“They have atom bombs. We have them too, but if a ‘madman’ decides to drop a bomb on Lahore, it won’t take 8 seconds for the radiation to reach Amritsar,” he warned.
“If we respect them, they will remain peaceful. But if we snub them, what happens if a ‘madman’ comes up and decides to launch bombs [at India]?” Aiyar asked.
Read: India’s Sam Pitroda quits after leaving opposition Congress red-faced twice in a month
He also took an indirect dig at prime minister Narendra Modi saying in order to become vishwaguru (world leader), India has to show that it is working hard to resolve matters with Pakistan, no matter how serious they are. He then remarked that no such hard work has been visible in the last decade.
This is not the first time that Aiyar, 84, has made controversial remarks related to Pakistan.
Earlier this year, he had commended the people of Pakistan and referred to them as the “biggest asset of India”, the country’s Dawn newspaper reported.
Read: Pakistan’s ex-minister praised Rahul Gandhi under Modi pressure: Opposition leader
During an event on India-Pakistan affairs in Lahore, he expressed his admiration for the host nation and its citizens, recalling the warm hospitality he had received during his posting in Karachi.
He also emphasized the need for goodwill between the two neighbours but criticized the absence of such sentiments in the past 10 years.
The 84-year-old leader’s comment also came just days after Farooq Abdullah, a former chief minister of the erstwhile Jammu and Kashmir state, had remarked that Pakistan could resort to using atom bombs if provoked. He had remarked “Pakistan not wearing bangles” when asked about a statement made by Indian defence minister Rajnath Singh about merging Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) into India. Singh had said that there was no need for India to capture PoK as its people would themselves want to be part of India after witnessing changes in Kashmir.
The Congress, however, distanced itself from Aiyar’s remarks saying they did not reflect the party’s position. It also accused the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party of deliberately raking up an old interview to gain political benefits.
It said such videos were being given importance to deflect attention from prime minister Narendra Modi’s “daily goof-ups” and cited a “not so old” video where India’s external affairs minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar was accused of “publicly advising India to be afraid of China”.
भारतीय राष्ट्रीय कांग्रेस श्री मणि शंकर अय्यर द्वारा कुछ महीने पहले की गई कुछ टिप्पणियों से अपने आप को अलग करती है और पूरी तरह से उनसे असहमत है। देश समझ रहा है कि भाजपा द्वारा प्रधानमंत्री मोदी के दैनिक गलतियों एवं निरंतर डगमगाते प्रचार से ध्यान हटाने के प्रयास में इन पुरानी व… pic.twitter.com/GcF04gnThv
— Pawan Khera 🇮🇳 (@Pawankhera) May 10, 2024
“Indian National Congress dissociates itself completely from and disagrees totally with some remarks made by Mr Mani Shankar Aiyar few months back which have been revived today by the BJP in its attempt to deflect attention from Prime Minister Modi’s daily goof ups. Mr Aiyar does not speak for the party in any capacity whatsoever,” Congress leader Pawan Khera said on X.
Khera also said the Congress and the entire nation recalls with pride that in December 1971 Pakistan was broken and an independent Bangladesh emerged thanks to former prime minister Indira Gandhi’s decisive and determined leadership and the valour of our armed forces.
Rahuls Cong "idealogy" is fully visible in these elections
➡️Support to and from Pakistan incldg offrng to give up Siachen
➡️ Support to and from domestic terror-linked organizations and people like SDPI, Yasin Malik
➡️ Rampant Corruption and loot of money meant for poor… pic.twitter.com/UABONLzNFN— Rajeev Chandrasekhar 🇮🇳(Modiyude Kutumbam) (@Rajeev_GoI) May 10, 2024
“Almost exactly 50 years ago on May 18, 1974 under the leadership of Indiraji, India’s nuclear capability was announced to the world. The Indian National Congress has always believed that our decision making should be guided by supreme national interest,” he added.
Pakistan has featured in the ongoing national elections as a number of BJP leaders, including Modi, spoke about the Indian government’s firm stance on dealing with any kind of terrorism originating from that country. Recently, Jaishankar also spoke about the Indian government’s commitment to bring PoK back.
The ruling party also slammed the Congress party recently after a video on X showed a former Pakistani minister praising the opposition party’s top leader, Rahul Gandhi.
