Hyderabad: Former Union minister Mani
Shankar Aiyar, suspended from the Congress for his
controversial remarks against Prime Minister Narendra Modi,
today expressed confidence that he will be re-inducted.
He said he was hopeful that the party would do so
anytime.
"It (revocation of suspension) may happen either in the
next six hours, or in the next six days, or in the next six
weeks or in the next six years," Aiyar said.
"I would know that one day, I think they (will) take me
back. Because however much they might feel that they have
alienated me from the Congress, I am a Congressman and I shall
remain absolutely loyal to the party," he said at the "India
Today Conclave South 2018" here.
Aiyar was suspended from the primary membership of the
Congress on December 7 amid speculation that his remarks
against Modi had undone the gains made by party president
Rahul Gandhi during campaigning in the Gujarat elections.
Modi had used Aiyar's remark that he (the prime minister)
was a vile sort of person to the hilt at the hustings to whip
up a sense of Gujarati pride. The Congress had also issued him
a show cause notice over the remarks.
Explaining the sequence of events that led to his
suspension from the party, Aiyar said he was reacting to the
PM's reference to B R Ambedkar and said "neech kism ka aadmi".
He asserted that he never spoke of "neech jaati" or low
caste.
Aiyar said he regrets missing Rahul Gandhi's election as
Congress president as he was with the Gandhi scion during the
filing of nominations for the post.
To a query on Tamil film superstar Rajinikanth's
political debut, he said, "Cinema would never translate into
politics, but politicians have leveraged their film background
for politics.
PTI
