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Not a Hindi speaker, messed up in translation: Aiyar on 'Modi Neech' remark

He said he never meant low-born

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 apologize: Mani Shankar Aiyar. (Photo: ANI)

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 apologize: Mani Shankar Aiyar. (Photo: ANI)

IANS New Delhi

Senior Congress leader Mani Shankar Aiyar on Thursday apologised for using the word "neech" (low) for Prime Minister Narendra Modi but maintained that he had not referred to him as "low-born".

"I never meant low-born. There is a difference in English language between words 'low' and ''low-born'. But in Hindi if low means low-born, then I tender apology," he told reporters after his remarks in the morning triggered a political storm.

Asked about Rahul Gandhi's tweet that he did not appreciate Aiyar's words to address the Prime Minister, Aiyar said he could talk about it only after meeting Gandhi.

 

 

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First Published: Dec 07 2017 | 6:17 PM IST

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