NEW DELHI: Former Union minister and Congress leader Mani Shankar Aiyar on Tuesday triggered row when he said that the Chinese in 1962 “allegedly invaded India”.
“In October 1962, the Chinese allegedly invaded India,” he said at a book release event.
Recalling the time he took exam for Indian Foreign Service, he said, “On the day, Tawang fell, the Foreign Service exams began in London.When it was over…I was prominent in politics, and the newspapers used to make reference to me as being very left-wing, being a communist. After I passed the foreign service exam, and I had done very well. I found I was not finding any kind of admission letter. So, I wrote to the Ministry of External Affairs, that I have not received the joining letter.”
“I got the reply through Telegram stating ‘Regret to inform you, that you have been rejected from all services’ and I immediately realised what this was about”, he added.
He further said that he got rejected because he was the intelligence bureau thought that he was a communist.
“The Intelligence Bureau had a very important source of information on Indian students studying in foreign universities…it was called Yellow Rats…they came to the conclusion that since I am a communist and since I raised money for the Chinese. I was not able to raise money for my dinner, how will I raise money for the Chinese? I was removed from the list and rushed back to India”, he said.
This comes days after Aiyar sparked controversy saying that Pakistan is a respected nation and suggested that India should engage in dialogue with them.
“They are also a sovereign country (Pakistan). They are a respected nation. You can talk tough with them (Pakistan). But start the dialogue,” he said.
“You are walking with a gun which yielded you nothing. Tensions are escalating. And if a mad person comes there, what will happen to the nation? They have an atom bomb. We also possess the atomic bomb. But if a mad person detonates our bomb at Lahore station, so within eight seconds, eight moments, its radioactivity will reach Amritsar,” he added.
“In October 1962, the Chinese allegedly invaded India,” he said at a book release event.
Recalling the time he took exam for Indian Foreign Service, he said, “On the day, Tawang fell, the Foreign Service exams began in London.When it was over…I was prominent in politics, and the newspapers used to make reference to me as being very left-wing, being a communist. After I passed the foreign service exam, and I had done very well. I found I was not finding any kind of admission letter. So, I wrote to the Ministry of External Affairs, that I have not received the joining letter.”
“I got the reply through Telegram stating ‘Regret to inform you, that you have been rejected from all services’ and I immediately realised what this was about”, he added.
He further said that he got rejected because he was the intelligence bureau thought that he was a communist.
“The Intelligence Bureau had a very important source of information on Indian students studying in foreign universities…it was called Yellow Rats…they came to the conclusion that since I am a communist and since I raised money for the Chinese. I was not able to raise money for my dinner, how will I raise money for the Chinese? I was removed from the list and rushed back to India”, he said.
This comes days after Aiyar sparked controversy saying that Pakistan is a respected nation and suggested that India should engage in dialogue with them.
“They are also a sovereign country (Pakistan). They are a respected nation. You can talk tough with them (Pakistan). But start the dialogue,” he said.
“You are walking with a gun which yielded you nothing. Tensions are escalating. And if a mad person comes there, what will happen to the nation? They have an atom bomb. We also possess the atomic bomb. But if a mad person detonates our bomb at Lahore station, so within eight seconds, eight moments, its radioactivity will reach Amritsar,” he added.