The Opposition leaders are competing with one another to hurl abuses at Narendra Modi as they have realised that they are losing the Lok Sabha elections, said the prime minister, hours after Congress leader Mani Shankar Aiyar’s opinion piece whipped up controversy.
“This is why the competition to abuse Modi has picked up pace. They can’t win so they are venting their frustration by abusing (me),” the prime minister said at a rally in Bihar’s Buxar.
What Did Aiyar Say?
In a scathing attack, senior Congress leader Mani Shankar Aiyar accused the prime minister of being guilty of “anti-national activity” in trying to “ride on sacrifices of the army and CRPF martyrs” in a “dirty” election campaign.
He also wrote, in a column for The Print, that 23 May would see a “fitting end to the most foul-mouthed prime minister this country has seen or is likely to see.”
Taking a shot at the PM over his recent “cloud cover” remark and his claim “of using email, digital camera in 1988,” Aiyar wrote: “... modern India must cultivate a ‘scientific temper,’ an expression that drives sanghis nuts because they like to believe the ‘udan khatolas’ of mythology were the earliest F-16s to be invented by Hindus, and that Hindu plastic surgery, not a transplant operation, is what led to an elephant’s head surmounting Lord Ganesh.”
He also said that Modi loathes Jawaharlal Nehru because he had a degree in Natural Sciences from the University of Cambridge, while the PM’s “acquaintance with higher education has gone no further than lying about degrees from Delhi and Gujarat universities.”
‘Cloud Remark Insult to Defence Forces’
Aiyar also said that Modi’s recent cloud cover remarks, spoken in context of the Balakot air strikes, was an insult our brave airmen.
“Not one of them was so ignorant of the fact that radar is not a telescope whose vision can be clouded over. Radar is used precisely because, whatever the weather conditions, it can pinpoint incoming aircraft. Did Modi take his senior-most Air Force officers for fools that he could trot out such ridiculous unscientific rubbish before them?" he wrote.
He also accused Modi of engaging in “anti-national activity” by trying to make electoral gains on “the sacrifices of our army and CRPF martyrs in a dirty election campaign.”
Modi will, Aiyar added, be ousted by people of India on 23 May. “That would be a fitting end to the most foul-mouthed prime minister this country has seen or is likely to see. Remember how I described him on 7 December 2017? Was I not prophetic?”
Aiyar was purportedly referring to the his ‘neech’ remark against PM Modi, which had whipped up a political storm, forcing Congress President Rahul Gandhi to publicly express his disapproval.
“I do not appreciate the tone and language used by Mr Mani Shankar Aiyer to address the PM (sic),” Gandhi had tweeted.
Aiyar, meanwhile, said that he stands by his jibe against PM Modi.
"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 news agency ANI over the phone.
‘Following Pitroda’s Footsteps’
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) wasted no time, with its I-T in-charge Amit Malviya tweeting:
Several journalists and political commentators also reacted to Aiyar’s column:
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