'Pakistanis biggest asset of India': Mani Shankar Aiyar blames 'Hindutva' for failed talks
Aiyar added that he considered it "silly" to expect that the "Hindutva establishment" in India would want to talk to Pakistan. "But it's a minority opinion because 63 per cent of Indians have never voted for BJP," Dawn quoted him as saying at the event.
- Feb 12, 2024,
- Updated Feb 12, 2024 12:36 PM IST
Veteran Congress leader and former Union Minister Mani Shankar triggered a fresh row after coming out in praise of Pakistanis, calling them the "biggest asset of India", Dawn reported.
Aiyar was addressing an event in Lahore. "All I ask the people (of Pakistan) is to remember that (PM) Modi has never received more than one-third of the votes but our system is such that if has one-third of the votes, he has two-thirds in the seats. So two-thirds of Indians are ready to come towards you (Pakistanis)," Dawn quoted Aiyar as saying at the event.
The Congress leader also reiterated his call to open communication channels between the two countries, saying the current regime under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi made it "biggest mistake" by refusing to hold dialogue with Pakistan.
"There were five Indian high commissioners who served in the Congress government and the BJP government in Islamabad and all five of them unanimously agreed that whatever are our differences, we must engage with Pakistan and the biggest mistake that we made in the last 10 years was the refusing dialogue. We have the courage to conduct surgical strikes against you but we don't have the courage to sit across the table and talk," Aiyar said at the event.
He added that he considered it "silly" to expect that the "Hindutva establishment" in India would want to talk to Pakistan.
"But it's a minority opinion because 63 per cent of Indians have never voted for BJP," Dawn quoted him as saying at the event.
He said the civil society in both countries "should continue dialogue until the governments awaken, but for that neither Pakistan nor India were any help due to visa issues. He suggested that businessmen, students and academics should continue meeting outside India and Pakistan, bypassing the governments".
Veteran Congress leader and former Union Minister Mani Shankar triggered a fresh row after coming out in praise of Pakistanis, calling them the "biggest asset of India", Dawn reported.
Aiyar was addressing an event in Lahore. "All I ask the people (of Pakistan) is to remember that (PM) Modi has never received more than one-third of the votes but our system is such that if has one-third of the votes, he has two-thirds in the seats. So two-thirds of Indians are ready to come towards you (Pakistanis)," Dawn quoted Aiyar as saying at the event.
The Congress leader also reiterated his call to open communication channels between the two countries, saying the current regime under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi made it "biggest mistake" by refusing to hold dialogue with Pakistan.
"There were five Indian high commissioners who served in the Congress government and the BJP government in Islamabad and all five of them unanimously agreed that whatever are our differences, we must engage with Pakistan and the biggest mistake that we made in the last 10 years was the refusing dialogue. We have the courage to conduct surgical strikes against you but we don't have the courage to sit across the table and talk," Aiyar said at the event.
He added that he considered it "silly" to expect that the "Hindutva establishment" in India would want to talk to Pakistan.
"But it's a minority opinion because 63 per cent of Indians have never voted for BJP," Dawn quoted him as saying at the event.
He said the civil society in both countries "should continue dialogue until the governments awaken, but for that neither Pakistan nor India were any help due to visa issues. He suggested that businessmen, students and academics should continue meeting outside India and Pakistan, bypassing the governments".