<p>Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has responded to Prime Minister Narendra Modi&#39;s allegation that <a href="http://www.wionews.com/india-news/modi-claims-pakistan-trying-to-influence-gujarat-elections-26391" target="_blank">Pakistan is meddling</a> in the Gujarat elections.&nbsp;</p>

<p>&quot;I am deeply pained and anguished by the falsehood and canards being spread to score political points in a lost cause by none less than Prime Minister Sh. Narender Modi,&quot; Singh said in a statement released by him on Monday.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Modi had made the allegation after former Congress leader Mani Shankar Aiyar had called him a &quot;neech&quot; person.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Modi, at a campaign rally in Gujarat, said Aiyar, Manmohan Singh and former vice-president Hamid Ansari had met with the Pakistan high commissioner at a dinner in Delhi. And that the next day Aiyar had called him &quot;neech&quot;.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Modi also talked of an appeal -- the veracity of which is still uncertain -- by former director general (DG) of the Pakistan Army, Sardar Arshad Rafiq, to make senior Congress leader Ahmed Patel the chief minister of Gujarat.</p>

<p>&quot;Fearing imminent defeat in Gujarat, desperation of Prime Minister to hurl every abuse and latch on to every straw is palpable. Sadly &amp; regrettably, Sh. Modi is setting a dangerous precedent by his insatiable desire to tarnish every constitutional office, including that of a Former Prime Minister and Army Chief,&quot; Singh said in his statement.&nbsp;</p>

<p>It later came to light that the dinner -- hosted by Aiyar -- had also been attended by a former Indian Army chief.&nbsp;</p>

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<h5>I sincerely hope that he will apologize to the Nation for his ill-thought transgression to restore the dignity of the office he occupies</h5>
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<p>&nbsp;<br />
In his statement, Manmohan Singh also went on to take a potshot at Modi.&nbsp;</p>

<p>&quot;The Congress Party needs no sermons on &#39;Nationalism&#39;&nbsp;from a party and Prime Minister whose compromised track record on fighting terrorism is well known. Let me remind Sh. Narender Modi that he had gone to Pakistan uninvited after the terrorist attacks in Udhampur and Gurdaspur. Let him also tell the country the reason for inviting the infamous ISI of Pakistan to our strategic Air Base in Pathankot to investigate a terror attack that emanated from Pakistan.&quot;<br />
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Singh added that &quot;no one, including Shri Modi, can lamely question&quot; his record of public service over the last five decades.&nbsp;</p>

<p>The rest of Singh&#39;s statement read:&nbsp;</p>

<p>&quot;My track record of public service to the country over last five decades is known to everyone. No one, including Sh. Modi, can lamely question it to gain lost political ground.&nbsp;<br />
&nbsp;<br />
I reject the innuendos and falsehoods as I did not discuss Gujarat elections with anyone else at the dinner hosted by Shri Mani Shankar Aiyar as alleged by Shri Modi. &nbsp;Nor was the Gujarat issue raised by anyone else present at the dinner. &nbsp;The discussion was confined to India-Pakistan relations. &nbsp;Names of the distinguished Indian public servants and journalists present at the dinner are enclosed to this statement. &nbsp;None of them could be accused of indulging in any anti-national activities.<br />
&nbsp;<br />
I sincerely hope that Prime Minister will show the maturity and gravitas expected of the high office he holds instead of concentrating his energy solely on erroneously conceived brownie points. I sincerely hope that he will apologize to the Nation for his ill thought transgression to restore the dignity of the office he occupies.&quot;&nbsp;</p>


Prime Minister Narendra Modi had alleged that Pakistan was meddling in the Gujarat elections

Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has responded to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's allegation that Pakistan is meddling in the Gujarat elections. "I am deeply pained and anguished by the falsehood and canards being spread to score political points in a lost cause by none less than Prime Minister Sh. Narender Modi," Singh said in a statement released by him on Monday. Modi had made the allegation after former Congress leader Mani Shankar Aiyar had called him a "neech" person. Modi, at a campaign rally in Gujarat, said Aiyar, Manmohan Singh and former vice-president Hamid Ansari had met with the Pakistan high commissioner at a dinner in Delhi. And that the next day Aiyar had called him "neech". Modi also talked of an appeal -- the veracity of which is still uncertain -- by former director general (DG) of the Pakistan Army, Sardar Arshad Rafiq, to make senior Congress leader Ahmed Patel the chief minister of Gujarat. "Fearing imminent defeat in Gujarat, desperation of Prime Minister to hurl every abuse and latch on to every straw is palpable. Sadly & regrettably, Sh. Modi is setting a dangerous precedent by his insatiable desire to tarnish every constitutional office, including that of a Former Prime Minister and Army Chief," Singh said in his statement. It later came to light that the dinner -- hosted by Aiyar -- had also been attended by a former Indian Army chief. I sincerely hope that he will apologize to the Nation for his ill-thought transgression to restore the dignity of the office he occupies × In his statement, Manmohan Singh also went on to take a potshot at Modi. "The Congress Party needs no sermons on 'Nationalism' from a party and Prime Minister whose compromised track record on fighting terrorism is well known. Let me remind Sh. Narender Modi that he had gone to Pakistan uninvited after the terrorist attacks in Udhampur and Gurdaspur. Let him also tell the country the reason for inviting the infamous ISI of Pakistan to our strategic Air Base in Pathankot to investigate a terror attack that emanated from Pakistan." Singh added that "no one, including Shri Modi, can lamely question" his record of public service over the last five decades. The rest of Singh's statement read: "My track record of public service to the country over last five decades is known to everyone. No one, including Sh. Modi, can lamely question it to gain lost political ground. I reject the innuendos and falsehoods as I did not discuss Gujarat elections with anyone else at the dinner hosted by Shri Mani Shankar Aiyar as alleged by Shri Modi. Nor was the Gujarat issue raised by anyone else present at the dinner. The discussion was confined to India-Pakistan relations. Names of the distinguished Indian public servants and journalists present at the dinner are enclosed to this statement. None of them could be accused of indulging in any anti-national activities. I sincerely hope that Prime Minister will show the maturity and gravitas expected of the high office he holds instead of concentrating his energy solely on erroneously conceived brownie points. I sincerely hope that he will apologize to the Nation for his ill thought transgression to restore the dignity of the office he occupies."

No one can lamely question my public service: Manmohan to Modi on Pak meddling allegations

<p>The BJP stuck to its stand Monday on the meeting between Congress leaders and Pakistani officials.&nbsp;</p>

<p>&quot;Congress must come out with detailed facts what transpired in that meeting and what was the necessity of having it in present circumstances,&quot; Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said.&nbsp;</p>

<p>&quot;Yesterday they were in denial about it and today instead of accepting it as a misadventure, they try to blame those raising the issue,&quot; he added.&nbsp;</p>

<p>He also added that &quot;Those like Mani Shankar Aiyar always had an inconsistent position.&quot; That &quot;They maintained a parallel line of dialogue, underplayed Pakistan&#39;s role in instigating terrorism in India and continued to engage with them (Pak).&quot;</p>

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<p dir="ltr" lang="en">Those like Mani Shankar Aiyar always had an inconsistent position. They maintained a parallel line of dialogue, underplayed Pakistan&#39;s role in instigating terrorism in India &amp; continued to engage with them (Pak) : FM Arun Jaitley <a href="https://t.co/pACCscylnq">pic.twitter.com/pACCscylnq</a></p>
&mdash; ANI (@ANI) <a href="https://twitter.com/ANI/status/940229926548004864?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 11, 2017</a></blockquote>
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<p>He also added that &quot;Former PM Manmohan Singh has <a href="http://www.wionews.com/india-news/no-one-can-lamely-question-my-public-service-manmohan-to-modi-on-pak-meddling-allegations-26463" target="_blank">issued a statement</a> asking PM Modi to apologise for what he said in an election rally with regard to a meeting involving Pakistani delegations. It is surprising that (the) Congress party expect the Prime Minister of India to apologise for it.&quot;&nbsp;</p>

<p>Prime Minister Modi had referred to the meeting while campaigning in Gujarat. He said the meeting had been attended by Mani Shankar Aiyar, former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, and former Vice-President Hamid Ansari.&nbsp;</p>

<p>He said that the day after the meeting former Congress leader Mani Shankar Aiyar had called him a &quot;neech&quot; person, and alleged that <a href="http://www.wionews.com/india-news/modi-claims-pakistan-trying-to-influence-gujarat-elections-26391" target="_blank">Pakistan was interfering</a> in the Gujarat elections.&nbsp;</p>

<p>News reports however have since said that the dinner meeting, hosted by Aiyar, was also attended by, among other, a former Indian Army chief.&nbsp;</p>

<p>The former Army chief, Deepak Kapoor, has said on record that the only thing discussed at the dinner was India-Pak relations.&nbsp;</p>

<p>And that Gujarat was not brought up.&nbsp;</p>


Prime Minister Narendra Modi had alleged, while referring to the meeting, that Pakistan was meddling in the Gujarat elections

The BJP stuck to its stand Monday on the meeting between Congress leaders and Pakistani officials. "Congress must come out with detailed facts what transpired in that meeting and what was the necessity of having it in present circumstances," Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said. "Yesterday they were in denial about it and today instead of accepting it as a misadventure, they try to blame those raising the issue," he added. He also added that "Those like Mani Shankar Aiyar always had an inconsistent position." That "They maintained a parallel line of dialogue, underplayed Pakistan's role in instigating terrorism in India and continued to engage with them (Pak)." Those like Mani Shankar Aiyar always had an inconsistent position. They maintained a parallel line of dialogue, underplayed Pakistan's role in instigating terrorism in India & continued to engage with them (Pak) : FM Arun Jaitley pic.twitter.com/pACCscylnq — ANI (@ANI) December 11, 2017 × He also added that "Former PM Manmohan Singh has issued a statement asking PM Modi to apologise for what he said in an election rally with regard to a meeting involving Pakistani delegations. It is surprising that (the) Congress party expect the Prime Minister of India to apologise for it." Prime Minister Modi had referred to the meeting while campaigning in Gujarat. He said the meeting had been attended by Mani Shankar Aiyar, former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, and former Vice-President Hamid Ansari. He said that the day after the meeting former Congress leader Mani Shankar Aiyar had called him a "neech" person, and alleged that Pakistan was interfering in the Gujarat elections. News reports however have since said that the dinner meeting, hosted by Aiyar, was also attended by, among other, a former Indian Army chief. The former Army chief, Deepak Kapoor, has said on record that the only thing discussed at the dinner was India-Pak relations. And that Gujarat was not brought up.

BJP sticks to guns, Jaitley says Congress must come out with detailed facts on Pakistani meeting

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No one can lamely question my public service: Manmohan to Modi on Pak meddling allegations

BJP sticks to guns, Jaitley says Congress must come out with detailed facts on Pakistani meeting