Pak stays at centre of Gujarat election battle
MANMOHAN VS MODI EXPM seeks apology to nation as meddling row intensifies
NEWDELHI: Former prime minister Manmohan Singh sought an apology to the nation from Prime Minister Narendra Modi for insinuating that he, and other members of the Congress party, may have colluded with Pakistan; India’s neighbour called Modi’s allegations “baseless and irresponsible”; and BJP leaders saw Pakistan’s response as “suspicious” and asked why the Congress had taken 48 hours to admit to a meeting between its leaders and Pakistani officials including the high commissioner.
The back and forth over Pakistan started as a sideshow of the ongoing campaign ahead of the second phase of the elections to the Gujarat assembly on December 14, but soon grabbed centre stage.
On Sunday, Modi referred to a Facebook post by a former director general of the Pakistani army, Sardar Arshad Rafiq, saying Congress leader Ahmed Patel should be the next chief minister of the state, and to a meeting in Congress leader Mani Shankar Aiyar’s residence attended by Singh, the former vice president of India, Pakistan’s former foreign minister, and the country’s high commissioner to India. The prime minister said the meeting happened last week, a day before Aiyar called him “neech” (lowly). Aiyar has since apologised and also been suspended from the primary membership of the Congress.
On Monday, Singh, 85, said Modi’s claim was an “ill-thought transgression” and rejected his charge as “innuendos and false- hoods” . Congress spokesperson Anand Sharma accused the PM of dragging political discourse to an “unacceptable low” by making statements that harmed the dignity of the prime minister’s post.
In his statement, Singh said the meeting on December 6 at Aiyar’s house was restricted to discussions about India’s relations with Pakistan and that the Gujarat polls didn’t figure in the conversation.
“My track record of public service to the country over last five decades is known to everyone. No one, including Modi, can lamely question it to gain lost political ground,” Singh said.
Pakistan too, refuted charges of a secret meeting. “India should stop dragging Pakistan into its electoral debate and win victories on own strength rather than fabricated conspiracies, which are utterly baseless and irresponsible,” Pakistan Foreign Office spokesperson Mohammad Faisal tweeted.
Hours later, the BJP hit back; law minister Ravi Shankar Prasad slammed Pakistan for giving “lessons”. “What is curious is that this happens and Pakistan comes out with an official statement... in many ways seeking to bail out Congress party. Is it too suspicious? Surely, the country will draw its own conclusion,” he added.
Finance minister Arun Jaitley charged Singh with defying the stated national policy on terror by meeting Pakistani diplomats and demanded to know the context, relevance and necessity of such a meet.
My track record of public service to the country over last five decades is known... No one, including Modi, can lamely question it to gain lost political ground. MANMOHAN SINGH, Former PM It is surprising that for a misadventure the Congress indulged in, to which some of its senior leaders became a party, they should expect the PM of India to apologise
ARUN JAITLEY, Finance minister