‘Hindutva asks 80 per cent Hindus to quiver in front of 14 per cent Muslims’: Mani Shankar Aiyar

Veteran Congress leader Mani Shankar Aiyar, long known for courting controversy, has once again triggered a political row with his latest remarks on Hindutva.

Addressing The Debate 2026 event at the Calcutta Club, Aiyar said that “Hindutva is Hinduism in paranoia.”

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“It (Hindutva) asks 80 per cent Hindus to quiver in front of 14 per cent Muslims. Hindutva is a BJP leader slapping a blind, hungry tribal girl because she attends a Christmas lunch in a church. Hindutva raids shopping malls to tear down Christmas decorations,” Aiyar was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.

Mani Shankar Aiyar links Pahalgam terror attack to unresolved legacy of partition

He also claimed that Hindutva ideologue Vinayak Damodar Savarkar viewed Buddhism as an “existential threat to all Hindus.”

“Savar­kar described it as the ultimate negation of Hindutva, bearing the opiate of universalism and non-violence. He said it was disastrous to national virility and even to the existence of the Hindu race,” Aiyar added.

A day earlier, Aiyar had reportedly suggested that the government should end Operation Sindoor and initiate an “uninterrupted dialogue” with Pakistan.

The BJP strongly objected to his remarks, with party spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla slamming the Congress for allegedly “praising” Pakistan and “insulting” the Indian Army.

“Congress has always stood with Pakistan and with terrorists. The one identity of Congress is praising Pakistan and insulting the Indian Army. Mani Shankar Aiyar, considered one of the most trusted people of the Gandhi family, says that Operation Sindoor should be stopped and uninterrupted dialogue with Pakistan should be started,” Poonawalla said.