Controversy Erupts as Mani Shankar Aiyar Labels P.V. Narasimha Rao \"First BJP PM\"

NEW DELHI: Congress leader and former Union minister Mani Shankar Aiyar on Wednesday alleged that former prime minister P.V. Narasimha Rao was “communal” and described him as “the first BJP PM” of the country, eliciting strong criticism from the BJP.

Speaking at an event to release his autobiography, with Congress former president Sonia Gandhi in the audience, Aiyar narrated a conversation he had with Narasimha Rao at a time when he was carrying out 'Ram-Rahim' yatra. That is when, Aiyar said, he discovered “how communal and how Hindu-oriented” Narasimha Rao was.

“Narasimha Rao told me that he had no objection to my yatra, but he disagreed with my definition of secularism. I said what is wrong with my definition of secularism. He said, ‘Mani you don't seem to understand that this is a Hindu country.’ I sat up in my chair and said that is exactly what the BJP says,” Aiyar, 82, recounted.

The first BJP prime minister was not Atal Behari Vajpayee, the “first BJP PM” was Rao, he said.

Reacting to the remarks, BJP national spokesperson Sambit Patra called Aiyar a “spokesperson” of Nehru-Gandhi family.

“This is not Mani Shankar Aiyar's way of thinking. It's the Gandhi family's way of thinking. Gandhi parivar cannot tolerate anybody becoming prime minister outside the family even if the person belongs to the Congress. That's why Mani Shankar Aiyar was made to say that Rao belonged to the BJP, not the Congress,” he told at a press conference.

In Hyderabad, N.V. Subhash, BJP leader and party's spokesperson, slammed Aiyar for calling Narasimha Rao 'communal'. Subhash, grandson of the former prime minister, in a statement said that Aiyar had never dared to question Narasimha Rao about his functioning, but now was commenting on his integrity 19 years after his death.

Aiyar's comments were a reflection of his sycophancy towards the Gandhi family, Subhash said, adding, "The presence of Sonia Gandhi at the book launch function further aggravates our apprehension that she deliberately did not allow Narasimha Rao's body inside the AICC office for party leaders to pay their last respects."

It is the Congress culture to diminish the image of its own party veteran leaders after their death in a bid to encourage the image of dynastic Gandhi family, he said.