New Delhi, April 27 Congress leader Mani Shankar Aiyar, on Sunday, came under fire from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders over his attempt to link the Pahalgam terror attack to Partition, as they slammed him for shielding Pakistan from the blame for the terror strike.
Lok Sabha MP Praveen Khandelwal told IANS that Aiyar is a repeat offender.
"His remarks, in a way, point an accusing finger towards his own Congress party."
"The entire nation knows that Partition was an outcome of the political ambitions of Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru and Muhammad Ali Jinnah. In a way, Mani Shankar Aiyar's statement has put the Congress in the dock," he said.
Khandelwal expressed confidence that Prime Minister Narendra Modi will take a decision on the country's behalf on the issue of avenging the Pahalgam attack.
BJP leader Nalin Kohli also criticised Aiyar for raising the Partition issue.
"When he describes Partition an unresolved issue, it is Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru that he is blaming," Kohli told IANS.
He said while Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel bought together the 500 princely states to give India its identity, Pandit Nehru took decisions due to which the matter remained unresolved in Jammu and Kashmir.
"Whatever Mani Shankar Aiyar is saying is a serious matter and holds a lesson for the Congress," Kohli told IANS.
Talking to IANS, BJP's Rajya Sabha MP Gulam Ali Khatana said the Congress should apologise to the nation as it is responsible for Partition and asked Aiyar to undergo a brain test.
Referring to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's resolve to avenge the Pahalgam attack in which 26 people were killed, he said India is a responsible nation and capable of teaching a lesson to forces that attack helpless people.
Khatana hoped that the country, through a united effort, would undo the damage caused by the Pahalgam attack to the Jammu and Kashmir's economy.
Aiyar, speaking at an event in Delhi, had said, "Partition happened, and we are still paying the price."
He questioned whether the Pahalgam terror incident was a reflection of the lingering, unresolved issues born out of India's division in 1947.
The BJP was quick to seize upon Aiyar's comments, framing them as yet another example of the Congress party's unwillingness to call out Pakistan for its support of terrorism.
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