‘Respect Pak or they’ll drop atom bomb’: Mani Shankar Aiyar
Mani Shankar Aiyar, a veteran of the Congress, courted controversy when he said that instead of flexing its military might, India should have talks with Pakistan since doing so might provoke Islamabad into launching nuclear weapons against New Delhi.
He was the second political figure to alert about Pakistan’s nuclear weapons in recent days. Farooq Abdullah, the leader of the National Conference (NC), made a pointed statement earlier this week implying that Pakistan would use atomic bombs if provoked.
Former diplomat and outspoken supporter of normalizing relations between India and Pakistan, Aiyar, said that while the government can be harsh with Islamabad if it so chooses, but it could face severe consequences if it treats the neighboring nation with disrespect.
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“They have atom bombs. 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,” he warned.
Congress distances itself from Aiyar’s remarks
The Congress swiftly clarified that Aiyar’s comments did not represent the party’s position and distanced itself from them. Additionally, it charged that the BJP had fabricated an old Aiyar interview in order to gain political leverage.
Mani Shankar Aiyar’s comments coincided with a diplomatic disagreement between Pakistan and India following Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s well-known threat, “Ghar me ghus kar,” in which he threatened to use Indian forces to cross into Pakistan and kill any terrorist who managed to cross. The “provocative remarks” had been condemned by Islamabad.
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Following the Prime Minister’s attack, other prominent members of the Bharatiya Janata Party have also intensified their criticism of Pakistan. Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir (PoK) “was, is, and will remain ours,” according to Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, but India won’t need to use force to take it because its people, on their own would naturally desire to be a part of India.
BJP slams Congress over Aiyar’s remarks
After Mani Shankar Aiyar made comments on Pakistan, the BJP attacked the Congress with a venomous vitriol, claiming that the party had turned into a “apologist” for “Pakistan and Pakistan-based terror”.
Union Minister and BJP leader Rajeev Chandrasekhar said at a press conference that the contentious statements made by Congressmen Sam Pitroda and Aiyar were indicative of the party’s overall philosophy and platform.
To support his argument, the BJP official also recalled recent remarks made by other Congress leaders. Chandrashekhar brought up the recent comments made by Maharashtra Congressman Vijay Wadettiwar, claiming that an RSS-affiliated police officer, not Pakistani terrorist Ajmal Kasab, assassinated IPS officer Hemant Karkare.
