Senior Congress leader Mani Shankar Aiyar came out of woodwork to claim that PM Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah are not on same page as far as NRC is concerned.
Known for his tactless remarks, Aiyar asserted in a panel discussion in Lahore that there is a rift between PM Modi and Amit Shah over the articulation of NRC and NPR. The program was also attended by Pakistan’s Najam Sethi where Aiyar claimed that both Shah and Modi are the face of “Hindutva” in India.
“NPR has never been considered by the PM Modi government as a precursor to the setting up of NRC. However, the Union Home Minister has said in Parliament and given written assurances that NPR is indeed a predecessor to it,” Aiyar said.
Stirring a hornet’s nest, Aiyar said how India’s image has taken a hit internationally and that PM Modi will find it hard to explain the sudden opposition on the streets on the new law.
Earlier on Tuesday Aiyar joined the anti-CAA protests and National Registers of Citizens in New Delhi’s Shaheen Bagh and criticised the Modi government saying that they fought the elections on the promise of “Sabka Saath Sabka Vikas” but they did “Sabka Saath Sabka Vinash”.
Furthermore, he added, “Whatever sacrifices needs to be given, I’m ready for the same. Now let’s see whose hands is strong, our or that murderer’s?”
However, this is not the first time that Mani Shankar Aiyar has weighed in about India’s internal matters in Pakistan. In November 2015, Aiyar had sparked off a controversy when he said to a Pakistani media channel that Modi had to be removed in order to restore relations between India and Pakistan. That was construed by many as soliciting help from Pakistan on defenestrating PM Modi.