NEW DELHI: Congress leader Mani Shankar Aiyar on Friday said a video of his comments on Pakistan being circulated is old and being dredged up because the BJP's Lok Sabha campaign is faltering.
"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," the Congress leader said in a statement.
"Interested persons may please read the relevant passages in my two books released by Juggernaut last year, Memoirs of a Maverick and The Rajiv I Knew," he said.
In the video, Aiyar is saying that India should give respect to Pakistan as it possesses an atom bomb.
"If we don't give them respect, they'll think of using atom bomb against India," he said in the video.
Asked about use of India's muscular policy, he said, "We should not forget that Pakistan also has muscle at Kahuta (Rawalpindi)," a reference to the atomic bomb.
Cong says it disagrees with Manishankar Aiyar's remarks on Pakistan
The Congress on Friday dissociated itself from party leader Mani Shankar Aiyar's remarks on Pakistan, saying they have been revived by the BJP in its attempt to deflect attention from Prime Minister Narendra Modi's daily "goof ups".
Aiyar does not speak for the party in any capacity whatsoever, Congress media department chairperson Pawan Khera said on X.
Disagreeing totally with the remarks made by Aiyar some months ago, Khera said it is an old video.
In the video, Aiyar is heard saying that India should give respect to Pakistan as it is a sovereign nation and engage with it as it also possesses an atom bomb.
He indicated in the video that if a "mad person" comes to power there and uses the atom bomb, it will not be good and will have its effect here too.
Uploading a video of External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, Khera said, "If old videos are to be used, here is a not so old video where the External Affairs Minister is publicly advising India to be afraid of China."
Khera said the Congress and the entire nation recalls with pride that in December 1971 Pakistan was broken and an independent Bangladesh emerged thanks to Indira Gandhi's decisive and determined leadership and the valour of our armed forces.
"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.
Congress apologist for Pakistan, its terrorism: BJP
The BJP on Friday accused the Congress of being an apologist for Pakistan and the terrorism emanating from its soil, as the ruling party cited comments of Mani Shankar Aiyar to slam it.
In comments which have gone viral on social media, Aiyar is heard saying that India should accord due respect to Pakistan and hold talks with it.
If India spurns the neighbouring country, some madman there can use nuclear bomb, the former Union minister suggested.
Reacting to the row, Aiyar noted in a statement that it is obvious from the sweater he is wearing is the video that he made the comments to Chill Pill in the winter several months ago.
Seeking to corner the opposition party in the middle of the high-stakes general elections, BJP fielded Union minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar to attack the Congress.
He said Aiyar wants India to fear Pakistan and give it respect.
The "new India" does not fear anyone, he said, claiming that his comments have highlighted the intentions, policies and ideology of the Congress.
"The Congress under Rahul Gandhi has become an apologist and defender of Pakistan and its terrorism," he told reporters.
The BJP leader cited recent comments of more Congress leaders to make his point.
The leader of opposition in Maharashtra, Vijay Wadettiwar had said that IPS officer Hemant Karkare was killed by a cop affiliated to the RSS and not Pakistani terrorist Ajmal Kasab and former Punjab chief minister Charanjit Singh Channi had dismissed a recent terror incident in Poonch in which an Air Force official died as a poll stunt, he noted.
Congress leader Digvijay Singh had suggested that the Mumbai terror attack was a RSS conspiracy, he alleged.
The Congress acts, talks and behaves like an apologist for Pakistan's terrorism, Chandrasekhar said.
As the Congress did recently with Sam Pitroda, who was accused of making racist comments, it will distance itself from Aiyar but it is clear that there is a pattern to the remarks made by its leaders, he said.