Rahul Gandhi says Congress respects chair of Prime Minister

Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi said that the party respects the chair of Prime Minister and explained why senior leader Mani Shankar Aiyar was suspended for his ‘neech’ slur against PM Narendra Modi on Friday during an election campaign in Gujarat’s Chotta Udaipur.

Gandhi addressing to hundreds of party workers said, “The Congress Party respects the chair of Prime Minister. No one in the Congress is allowed to insult the Prime Minister. That is why we took strict action against Mani Shankar Aiyar

He added, “Modiji and BJP can say anything about us and our action."

During the rally, the Congress vice president asserted that the Congress will win the state assembly elections. “No one can stop us from winning. A storm is coming.”

In a controversial remark, Congress leader Aiyar on Thursday had called Prime Minister Narendra Modi a “neech aadmi” (vile man), who does “dirty politics”.

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Aiyar had said, “He (Modi) is ‘neech kism ka aadmi’ (a vile man) who has no ‘sabhyata’ (civility).”

Soon after Aiyar’s statement, BJP and Modi lashed out at Aiyar and Congress. PM Modi hitting back, had said, “The Congress would be punished for insulting all of Gujarat. People of Gujarat will take revenge on December 18 and teach you the precise meaning of neech."

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BJP senior leader and Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley termed Aiyar’s removal from the party as Congress’s “strategic suspension.”