Congress suspends Mani Shankar Aiyar over ‘neech’ jibe against PM Modi

The Congress on Thursday suspended former Rajya Sabha MP Mani Shankar Aiyar from primary membership of the party and issued a show-cause notice to him for his comments on Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Mr. Aiyar had earlier expressed regret for his comments after public censure from Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi.

The former MP had called Prime Minister Narendra Modi “neech kism ka aadmi” (a low life) in reaction to Mr. Modi’s speech at the inauguration of the Ambedkar International Centre where he had accused the Congress of systematically undermining Ambedkar’s legacy.

“Ye aadmi bahut neech kisam ka aadmi hai, is main koi sabhyata nahi hai, aur aise mauke par is kisam ki gandi rajniti karne ki kya avashyakta hai,” he told news agency ANI.

Mr. Aiyar does not hold any post in the party.

After the controversial remark, Mr. Gandhi took to Twitter to publicly censure Mr. Aiyar.

“BJP and PM routinely use filthy language to attack Congress party. Congress has a different culture and heritage. I do not appreciate the tone and language used by Mr Mani Shankar Aiyar to address the PM. Both the Congress and I expect him to apologise for what he said,” he tweeted.