In view of Mani Shankar Aiyar's 'Neech aadmi' remark, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday launched a scathing attack on the Congress party, saying that his expulsion from the party for his 'Neech' remark against him was a 'drama.'
"Remember, when Gujarat elections were there, a minister (Mani Shankar Aiyar) in their (UPA) government had said -- Modi is 'Neech' (low class). Someone said Modi is of 'Neech Jaati' (low caste). There was a storm in Gujarat. Then they did a drama by expelling him from the party. After some time, they took him back," said Prime Minister Modi, while addressing an election rally here.
Referring to Indian Overseas Congress (IOC) president Sam Pitroda's controversial 'Hua to hua' (Happened, so what) remark over the 1984 anti-Sikh riots, Prime Minister Modi said: "As soon as elections in Punjab is over, he (Congress president Rahul Gandhi) will once again start hugging his Guru (Sam Pitroda)."
"The Congress party does not think what he (Mani Shankar Aiyar) did was wrong," added the Prime Minister.
Claiming that the 'Naamdar' family has been ruling this country with a similar mindset for decades, Modi said: "Someone who abused me, he used extremely bad words for me. He (Mani Shankar Aiyar) reiterated the same thing yesterday. Now he is saying it with even more confidence that there is nothing wrong in the abuses that he showered on me. With a similar mindset, the family of 'Naamdar' has ruled the country for decades."
The Congress leader Aiyar had on Tuesday said that he stands by his 'Neech Aadmi' remark against Prime Minister Modi and termed his December 2017 remark about the Prime Minister as 'prophetic.'
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"I said what I wanted to say in that article. I stand by every word. I have no desire to engage in any argument," Aiyar told ANI over the phone.
The Congress party had distanced itself from the remarks made by Aiyar. The Congress party's national spokesperson Jaiveer Shergill said that the article only expresses the personal opinion of Aiyar.
"It is also very imperative for you to read the last part of the article you are referring to where he says the opinion and the remarks are the personal opinions of the author," said Shergill in a press statement.