Senior Congress leader Mani Shankar Aiyar has drawn criticism after an old interview of his went viral, in which he opined that dialogue with Pakistan was necessary or else India would pay a high price.
According to Mr. Aiyar, if Indian governments offended Pakistan, it could drop nuclear bombs.
Mr. Aiyar states in an interview that has gone viral, "India should give respect to Pakistan as it has an atom bomb! If we don't give them respect, they'll think of using an atom bomb against India."
"You should talk to them. But instead, we are flexing our military might. And this is just increasing the tensions. And they have atom bombs. What happens if a 'madman' decided to launch bombs (at India)," he said. "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."
Mr. Aiyar's comments have drawn criticism from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which claims that they represent the Congress's "ideology" for India.
Sharing the video on X, Union Minister Rajeev Chandrashekhar declared, "Rahul's Cong "idealogy" is fully visible in these elections. Support to and from Pakistan, including offrng to give up Siachen. Dividing people, Lies, Abuse and fake guarantees to mislead poor and vulnerable (sic)."
Rahuls Cong "idealogy" is fully visible in these elections
— Rajeev Chandrasekhar 🇮🇳(Modiyude Kutumbam) (@Rajeev_GoI) May 10, 2024
➡️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
BJP leader and Bhojpuri actor Ravi Kishan also poked fun at Mr. Aiyar, stating that since Pakistan is currently experiencing food insecurity, the Congress leader ought to get medical attention.
"At this time Pakistan is collecting foodgrains for itself. They are facing a food crisis...Mani Shankar Aiyar should get himself treated somewhere. This is not the India of Congress. Now, India is very powerful. This is the India of PM Modi," Kishan said.
Days before, top BJP leaders, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, had threatened to send Indian forces into Pakistan to kill any terrorists who managed to flee. This is when the Congress leader made his comments.
"During the Congress regime, the news headlines were about India handing over another dossier to Pakistan about terror activities. It used to be big news. Today, India doesn't send dossiers. Aaj Bharat ghar mein ghus ke marta hai (Today, India eliminates terrorists on their home turf)," Prime Minister Modi declared during an election rally in Latur, Maharashtra.
Later, Aiyar claimed that a video of his remarks circulating about Pakistan is outdated and being dug up because the BJP's Lok Sabha campaign is struggling. “It is obvious from the sweater I am wearing that my comments to ‘Chill Pill’ were made in the winter several months ago. They have been dredged up now as the BJP’s election campaign falters. I refuse to play their game,”
