Aiyar goes unresponsive on Gujarat elections poser

Kolkata (West Bengal): Congress leader Mani Shankar, now famous for his 'neech' remark against Prime Minister Narendra Modi, remained verbally and virtually unresponsive as an ANI reporter asked for his take on the Congress Party's performance in the recently-held Gujarat Assembly polls, on Friday.

Aiyar, who was at an event in Kolkata, took to perusing the newspaper in hand when the reporter approached him with the question. He remained immersed in the job at hand even after the question was repeated.

Amidst the mudslinging between Congress and BJP leaders during Gujarat election campaigning, the senior leader made headlines when he called the prime minister a 'neech aadmi'(low-born). He later issued a clarification in this regard, citing what he had intended to say was lost in translation.

It is notable that the infamous remark is believed by some to have caused the Congress party's fall in the election, despite a marked improvement when compared with the last-held polls.

In Gujarat, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) won the election for the 182-member assembly with a clear majority of 99 seats, while Congress claimed 77 seats.