Politician’s slur on Modi backfires before vital state vote

India’s opposition Congress party was under fire on Friday after a senior figure used a Hindi slur to describe Prime Minister Narendra Modi, forcing it into damage control mode before a state election.

Party veteran Mani Shankar Aiyar used the word “neech” which loosely translates as vile, low class and in extreme cases pervert, while speaking to a television reporter on Thursday, sparking widespread social media outrage.

The comment came before a vital test of popularity for Modi after a series of controversial economic reforms when Gujarat – the state where he forged his political career – goes to the polls on Saturday.

Modi, campaigning in Gujarat where his right-wing Bharatiya Janata Party is locked in an intense battle with Congress, seized on Aiyar’s remarks, urging voters to show their response through their vote.

“I have nothing to say on a ‘wise’ Congress leader calling me ‘Neech’. This is the Congress mindset. They have their language and we have our work. People will answer them through the ballot box,” Modi tweeted.

Aiyar was forced to apologise within hours and was also suspended from Congress, which denounced the “tone and language” used.