Strangely, on Saturday, an old interview of controversial Congress leader Mani Shankar Aiyar became viral on social media platforms.
Without any specific context or reason, netizens took to Twitter to share a three-year-old interview of Mani Shankar Aiyar to highlight the Congress leader’s theatrics in response to tough questions posed by the journalist.
Twitter user Mihir K Jha put out a video of Mani Shankar Aiyar’s interview with ETV Bharat journalist Rakesh Tripathi. “How did I miss this interview?” asked the Twitter user as he mocked the Congress leader for his dramatics during a TV interview.
Arey, how did I miss this Interview? When was this done, don’t miss the end 😂😂😂 Interviewer looks like Kejriwalpic.twitter.com/vB5wKFhwfA
— Mihir Jha (@MihirkJha) April 9, 2022
The interview with ETV Bharat was published on August 13, 2019, in which Mani Shankar Aiyar was posed tough questions on the party’s stand on the Kashmir issue and other developments surrounding Kashmir.
During the interview, senior Congress leader Mani Shankar Aiyar was confronted by the journalist on his controversial ‘chaiwala’ remark. It is pertinent to note that just before the 2014 general elections, Aiyar had claimed that Modi would never become a PM and he could arrange it for him to sell tea at the AICC meet if Modi so wished.
While the full version uploaded by ETV Bharat has this portion edited out, the following clip has gone viral on social media. As the ETV Bharat journalist asked Aiyar about this degrading remark, the veteran Congress not only denied making a controversial ‘chaiwala’ remark against Prime Minister Narendra Modi but also lost his cool.
The Congress leader also tries to defend his comments which were made at the Talkatora Stadium, saying that he was misinterpreted.
“I had said ‘if he (Modi) wanted to’ and not because ‘he was’ a chaiwala. I only said that he would lose, and if he wanted to sell tea, we would help him,” Mani Shankar Aiyar claims in the interview.
The journalist points out to Aiyar how it is a little demeaning to say something like that. However, Aiyar hits back by saying that that is what the journalist is thinking. Aiyar then asked the reporter to stick to Kashmir and not stray away from the topic.
When the reporter replied, saying that Aiyar could not dictate the questions that the reporter should ask, the Congress leader tried to evade the situation with his histrionics.
“Your questions on Kashmir are over, so the interview is now over,” Aiyar says, making a gesture of getting up. He then tells the journalist to get back to Kashmir and then threatens to get up from the interview.
Aiyar was reminded that as a journalist, he could ask him questions, especially in a democracy.
The Congress leader suffers a huge meltdown at the end as the journalist tells Aiyar that he respects him because he has been a great leader. Aiyar suddenly loses whatever cool he had left and starts making strange sounds and says ‘thank you’ with folded hands in a very dramatic voice. He even touches the journalist’s feet while continuing to talk in a strange voice and mannerisms.
