Foot in mouth

When senior Congress leader Mani Shankar Aiyar said “When Shah Jahan came in the place of Jahangir, did any election happen? And when Aurangzeb came in place of Shah Jahan, did any election happen?” to defend Rahul Gandhi’s proposed elevation as party president, the ruling party grabbed the opportunity with both hands to attack the 47-year-old at the centre of the debate. But that was not the first time Aiyar handed on a platter all the ammunition his political adversaries needed to attack his party and colleagues. Aiyar had courted controversy when he referred to 26/11 Mumbai attack mastermind and internationally designated terrorist Hafiz Saeed as Hafiz “sahab” in an interview. At an All India Congress Committee meeting ahead of the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, he had said while Narendra Modi could never become the Prime Minister of the country, he was free “to distribute tea here”. The BJP used that remark to full advantage, presenting it as an insult to Modi’s “humble roots”.