Amid a raging controvery over veteran Congress leader Mani Shankar Aiyar's remark that "Pakistanis are not enemies", a survey conducted by ABP-CVoter has found that a majority of the respondents do not agree with the former diplomat's statement.
The remark by Aiyar, who served as India's consul general in Karachi, found support only among 22.9 per cent respondents while 59.6 per cent do not agree with the statement. In the survey, 17.5 per cent of the respondents remained neutral.
Aiyar made the remarks during the launch of his autobiography "Memoirs of a Maverick - The First Fifty Years (1941-1991)". Speaking during the launch, Aiyar, calling for resumption of talks with Pakistan, said, "Is Pakistan an enemy country? My answer to that is: Pakistanis are not enemies."
"The government of Pakistan does a lot of things that does make them an enemy of ours. But how far are they reacting to us and how far are they provoking us?...When it comes to Pakistan, we have the courage to carry out surgical strikes against them but we don't have the guts to sit across the table and talk to a Pakistani," PTI quoted Aiyar as saying.
ABP-CVoter Survey: Aiyar On Rajiv Gandhi
The respondents were also asked if they agreed with another statement of Aiyar that former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi "made the biggest mistake" by not apologising on the spot for the 1984 anti-Sikh riots.
A majority 29.7 per cent said they didn't agree at all with Aiyar's remark while 27.5 per cent fully backed the Congress leader. Another 21.5 per cent of the respondents said they agreed to some extent with Aiyar's statement while 21.3 per cent refused to say anything.
The autobiography is based on Aiyar's journey as a diplomat, with a focus on his stint in Pakistan (from December 1978 to January 1982), and details his relationship with former PM Rajiv Gandhi. Aiyar also mentions his insights during the 1984 anti-Sikh riots after the assassination of then PM Indira Gandhi.
Aiyar On Narasimha Rao, Sonia Gandhi
During the book launch, Aiyar also alleged that former Prime Minister PV Narasimha Rao was "communal" and described him as the "first BJP PM" of the country and not Atal Bihari Vajpayee.
At the book launch event, Aiyar also heaped praises on former Congress chief Sonia Gandhi, saying survived in the party only because of her after Rajiv Gandhi's death. "With Rajiv gone many thought that let's finish this guy. I survived in the party only because of her (Sonia Gandhi)," Aiyar said.
The Congress leader said he was made Cabinet minister by Sonia Gandhi even though the then prime minister wanted to give him a minister of state portfolio.
Aiyar has handled panchayati raj, petroleum and natural gas, youth affairs and sports ministries.
[Disclaimer: Current survey findings and projections are based on CVoter personal interviews conducted among 4097 adults. Sometimes the table figures do not sum to 100 due to the effects of rounding. MoE is +/- 3% at macro level and +/- 5% at micro level.]