Mani Shankar Aiyar insulted India; has lost mental balance: Prakash Javadekar

GUWAHATI: Union Minister Prakash Javadekar today said senior Congress leader Mani Shankar Aiyar insulted the country by telling a Pakistan TV channel that Prime Minister Narendra Modi needs to be removed if talks between the two nations have to resume.

"I feel Mani Shankar Aiyar has lost his mental balance to tell so to a Pakistan channel. Aiyar's statement is not only an insult to the Prime Minister but also to the nation," Javadekar, the Union Forest and Environment Minister, told reporters here.

"(Samajwadi Party leader) Azam Khan supported the terrorist attack in Paris by saying it was in retaliation for killing innocents first," the BJP minister said.

Samajwadi Party has not condemned Khan's statement but only disassociated itself from the remark, he said.

"Aiyar has in another way only supported Azam Khan's statement justifying terrorism," Javadekar claimed.

"It is Pakistan's way not to resolve Indo-Pak issues. But it is Modi who began the process for India's good relations with other countries, including Pakistan," he said.

During a panel discussion on a Pakistani news channel, Aiyar reportedly said Prime Minister Narendra Modi needs to be removed if talks between the two nations have to resume.